Laguna de Sayula ("Sayula Lake") is a lake located in the southern area of Jalisco, about 60 km from

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

. It is located in the municipalities of Sayula,

Zacoalco de Torres Zacoalco de Torres, formerly Zacoalco ( nah, Tzacoalco; "place of closed water"), is a town and municipality in Jalisco, Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 491.27 km2. It is the primary production region of the ''equipal''-style wood a ...

Amacueca Amacueca is a town and municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United S ...

Teocuitatlán de Corona Teocuitatlán de Corona is a town and municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north b ...

, Atoyac and Techaluta de Montenegro. The lake level has gradually been lowering since 1993 but it still supports a large variety of wildlife.

Physical environment

Geographic location

Laguna de Sayula is found in the Zacoalco-Guzmán water system, right between the Tapalpa Mountains and the Mazamitla Mountains, in the central part of Southern Jalisco. The coordinates of its borders are: *North *West *South *East It measures with a maximum width of and a minimum of and a maximum length of and an altitude of above sea level. The lake has two islands, called ''Isla Chica'' ("small island") and ''Isla Grande'' ("big island"), oval forms less than . It has a coast approximately long and a depth of . One finds the municipalities of Sayula, Amacueca, Techaluta de Montenegro, and Atoyac around the lake.

Geological formation

Hydrography of the lake

Laguna de Sayula is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

with

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in a ...

(an important place for bird conservation), the wetlands are ecosystems where water is the main factor controlling the environment, vegetable life and animals associated with it. The lakes of the closed Sayula-Atotonilco basin form part of the endorheic lakes of the neo-volcanic axis. But Laguna de Sayula is especially important because of its relation to the migratory habitats of the North American birds.

Flora

Because the lake is salty, the vegetation found nearby is highly tolerant to salt. Along with these, there are low-lying vegetation that surrounds the lake.. The aquatic plants found in the lake is sparse, and can only be found in small pockets of freshwater in the area. The tropical deciduous forest vegetation can be found in higher altitudes, atop of hills and islands on the lake. The flora that can be found around the lake includes: * Seashore saltgrass (''Distichlis spicata'' and ''Sporobolus pyramidatus'') * Sea purslane (''Sesuvium portulacastrum'') * Seepweeds (''Suaeda torreyana'') * Smooth Mesquite (''Prosopis laevigata)'' * Madras Thorn (''Pithecellobium dulce)'' * Sweet Acacia (''Acacia farnesiana)'' * Southern cattail (''

Typha domingensis ''Typha domingensis'', known commonly as southern cattail or cumbungi, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus '' Typha''. Distribution and habitat It is found throughout temperate and tropical regions worldwide. It is sometimes found as a ...

'') * Baraima (''Bacopa monnieri)'' * Fat Duckweed (''Lemna gibba)'' * Fragrant Bursera (''Bursera fagaroides)'' * Frangipani (''Plumeria rubra)'' * Isolatocereus dumortieri (''Isolatocereus dumortieri)'' * Cheilanthes sinuata (''Cheilanthes sinuata)'' * Cheilanthes lozanoi (''Cheilanthes lozanoi)'' * Mammillaria scrippsiana (''Mammillaria scrippsiana)'' * Ball Moss (''Tillandsia recurvata)'' * Ficus goldmanii (''Ficus goldmanii)'' * Ficus insipida (''Ficus insipida)'' * Ficus padifolia (''Ficus padifolia)''

Fauna

The wildlife found around the lake is very diverse; it is common to see birds in the winter, of the species ''Chen caerulescens,'' ''Chorlito tildío, and'' ''Charadrius vociferus'', along with turtles, eagles, insects and hawks.

References

{{Authority control Ramsar sites in Mexico Protected areas of Jalisco Sayula