__NOTOC__ Laguna Alalay is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in the

Cochabamba Department Cochabamba (, , ), from Quechua ''qucha'' or ''qhucha'', meaning "lake", ''pampa'' meaning "plain", is one of the nine departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the " granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products from ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. At an elevation of 2570 m, its surface area is 2.4 km². The lake has a

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

dam that regulates floods of the

Rocha River Rocha River or Kunturillu River ( Quechua ''kunturillu'' black and white, Hispanicized spelling ''Condorillo'', also ''Kundurillu, Kunturillo'') which upstream is called Mayllanku ''(Maylanco)'' is a Bolivian river in the Cochabamba Department, ...

. The lake perimeter features a

bicycle path A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

and jogging track called ''circuit Bolivia (Circuito Bolivia)''.Laguna Alalay
/ref> During the late 20th century, the lake experienced increasing pollution relating to urbanization of the surrounding Cochabamba area leading to

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

of the lake. In 1997, a restoration effort was undertaken to remove sediment from the lake, and in 2004 and 2005, floating

macrophytes Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). In lakes, rivers and wetlands, aquatic vegetations provide cover for aquat ...

were removed from the lake for use as fertilizer. It was during the same 1997 effort that the bicycle path, bird observatory, and waterfowl conservation area were established. The lake is known for its high diversity of

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

References

Lakes of Cochabamba Department {{CochabambaBO-geo-stub

See also

References