Lake Titicaca is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America both in terms of the volume of water and surface area. It has a surface elevation of 3,812 m (12,507 ft).
A view of Lake Titicaca and Chelleca island in the background. Alpacas are a common sight along the shores of the lake. By EEJCC – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=134367629A view of Lake Titicaca taken from the town of Copacabana, Bolivia By EEJCC – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=134366465
[ed. note: the high res (14mb, 7690×3904) version of this image is truly spectacular.]
The city of Puno in Peru, the largest urban settlement on the lake By Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43198640
Having only a single season of free circulation, the lake is monomictic, and water passes through Lago Huiñaimarca and flows out the single outlet at the Río Desaguadero,which then flows south through Bolivia to Lake Poopó. This only accounts for about 10% of the lake’s water balance. Evapotranspiration, caused by strong winds and intense sunlight at high altitude, balances the remaining 90% of the water loss. It is nearly a closed lake.
Monomictic lakes are holomictic lakes that mix from top to bottom during one mixing period each year. Monomictic lakes may be subdivided into cold and warm types.
Holomictic lakes are lakes that have a uniform temperature and density from surface to bottom at a specific time during the year, which allows the lake waters to mix in the absence of stratification.
Lake Titicaca, located on the border between Peru and Bolivia, is renowned for its floating islands, which are one of the most unique and fascinating features of the lake. Here are some key points about these remarkable islands:
### The Uros Floating Islands
1. **Creation and Maintenance**:
– The floating islands are made by the Uros people, an indigenous group with a long history in the region. They construct the islands using layers of **totora reeds**, which grow abundantly in the lake. The reeds are woven together to form a sturdy, buoyant base that can support homes and other structures.
– The construction process is ongoing; new layers of reeds must be added regularly to replace those that rot away in the water, ensuring the islands remain afloat and habitable.
2. **Living on the Islands**:
– The Uros people live on these islands in small communities. Their homes, boats, and even some of their tools are also made from totora reeds.
– Life on the islands is relatively traditional. The Uros rely on fishing, hunting birds, and harvesting the reeds for their daily needs. They also engage in barter and trade with mainland communities.
3. **Cultural Significance**:
– The Uros people have maintained their way of life for centuries, preserving their customs and traditions despite external influences.
– The floating islands are not only a home but also a symbol of resilience and adaptability, showcasing the Uros’ ability to thrive in a unique environment.
4. **Tourism**:
– The islands have become a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors who are fascinated by their unique construction and the traditional lifestyle of the Uros people.
– Tourism provides an important source of income for the Uros, allowing them to support their communities while sharing their culture with the world.
### Additional Information
– The floating islands are typically anchored in place with ropes tied to stakes driven into the lakebed. This helps to prevent them from drifting away in the lake’s waters.
– Each island can host multiple families, with some of the larger islands having facilities such as schools and communal areas.
Elder G
The construction of islands and boats out of totora reeds which grows abundantly on Lake Titicaca is truly remarkable.
The Uros people start by cutting out a block of the dense reed root system measuring two meters in depth. This root layer is woven together and anchored with ropes and sticks to the bottom of the lake to hold the islands in place. From here layers of reed are placed in contrasting directions on top of the root system until the total density of the island measures 4 meters or so. Building an island is an intensive process; in total it can take up to a year to construct a new island and they typically can accommodate between 7 and 10 families. While a reed island can last up to 25 years, because of rotting of the reeds at the bottom of the island, new layers have to be added constantly.
Lake Titicaca is accessible from all points on the globe, with the notable exception of College Station, Texas.
Amantani Island
Amantani is another small island on Lake Titicaca populated by Quechua speakers. About 4,000 people live in 10 communities on the roughly circular 15 km2 (6 sq mi) island. Two mountain peaks, called Pachatata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth) and ancient ruins are on the top of both peaks. The hillsides that rise up from the lake are terraced and planted with wheat, potatoes, and vegetables. Most of the small fields are worked by hand. Long stone fences divide the fields, and cattle and sheep graze on the hillsides.
No cars and no hotels are on the island. Since machines are not allowed on the island, all agriculture is done by hand. A few small stores sell basic goods, and a health clinic and six schools are found. Electricity was produced by a generator and provided limited power a few hours each day, but with the rising price of petroleum, they no longer use the generator. Most families use candles or flashlights powered by batteries or hand cranks. Small solar panels have recently been installed on some homes.
Some of the families on Amantani open their homes to tourists for overnight stays and provide cooked meals, arranged through tour guides. The families who do so are required to have a special room set aside for the tourists and must conform to a code specified by the tourist companies that help them. Guests typically take food staples (cooking oil, rice, etc., but no sugar products, as they have no dental facilities) as a gift, or school supplies for the children on the island.
Amantani is known as the “Island of the Kantuta“, after the national flower of Peru and Bolivia, which grows plentifully on the island.
(note the use of the past tense in the Wikipedia article)
Lake Poopó was a large saline lake in a shallow depression in the Altiplano in Oruro Department, Bolivia, at an altitude of approximately 3,700 m (12,100 ft). Due to the lake’s length and width (90 by 32 km; 56 by 20 mi), it made up the eastern half of Oruro, known as a mining region in southwest Bolivia. The permanent part of the lake body covered approximately 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) and it was the second-largest lake in the country.[4] The lake received most of its water from the Desaguadero River, which flows from Lake Titicaca at the north end of the Altiplano. Since the lake lacked any major outlet and had a mean depth of less than 3 m (10 ft), the surface area differed greatly seasonally.
When the water level of Lake Titicaca was below 3,810 m (12,500 ft), the flow of Desaguadero River was so low it could no longer compensate for the massive water losses due to evaporation from the surface of Lake Poopó. At this point, the lake volume began to decrease. At its maximum in 1986, the lake had an area of 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi). During the years that followed, the surface area steadily decreased until 1994, when the lake disappeared completely. The time period between 1975 and 1992 was the longest period in recent times when the lake had a continuous water body.
On 20 January 2016 the area was declared a disaster zone by the Bolivian government.
“The lake was our mother and father. Now, we are orphans,” said Don Rufino Choque, whose words echo through the desolate, windswept salt flat that had once been the thriving shore of Lake Poopó, Bolivia. The Uru community of Puñaca Tinta Mariá, to which Rufino and his earliest known ancestors belonged, had lived in harmony with the waters of this ancient lake nurturing a profound bond that sustained their lives and preserving their unique ethno-cultural identity since well before the establishment of the Inca Empire. But today, the Uru way of life is marked by profound transformation, shaped by climate change-induced droughts and an extractivist regional economy that have caused the waters of Lake Poopó to disappear entirely by 2016.
Interesting article on the effects of tourism on the Uros people, their only economic means of survival.
The construction of islands and boats out of totora reeds which grows abundantly on Lake Titicaca is truly remarkable.
The Uros people start by cutting out a block of the dense reed root system measuring two meters in depth. This root layer is woven together and anchored with ropes and sticks to the bottom of the lake to hold the islands in place. From here layers of reed are placed in contrasting directions on top of the root system until the total density of the island measures 4 meters or so. Building an island is an intensive process; in total it can take up to a year to construct a new island and they typically can accommodate between 7 and 10 families. While a reed island can last up to 25 years, because of rotting of the reeds at the bottom of the island, new layers have to be added constantly.
