Lake Cote (), originally known as Lake Cóter, is a

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

crater lake located in the northern highlands of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. It is currently the largest natural lake in Costa Rica at . Its depth varies between 6 and 18 meters.

Location

Located in Cote district,

Guatuso Guatuso is a Cantons of Costa Rica, canton in the Alajuela Province, Alajuela province of Costa Rica. Toponymy It is named for the region's original inhabitants, an indigenous tribe whose survivors are now known as the Maleku people, Maleku and r ...

canton, of Alajuela province, between the Arenal Volcano and Tenorio Volcano. Nearby is located the largest lake in Costa Rica, Lake Arenal, of artificial origin.

Physical aspects

It is a crater lake of

Maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

type with a heart-like ovoid shape and a 1 km diameter. Average depth is of 6.30m and maximum depth is 18m at the center area. It is the natural drainage of River Cote. Average water temperature is around 21.9 °C and 27.9 °C.

Uses

The lake is used for tourism, subsistence fishing, hydropower electricity generation and as a conservation area. It is regarded as a sacred place by the local

Maleku people The Maleku are an indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous people of Costa Rica located in the Guatuso Indigenous Reserve near the town of Guatuso (San Rafael de Guatuso). Historically they were also known as the Guatuso, the name used by Sp ...

Cote UFO

On 4 September 1971, during an aerial survey by the National Geographic Institute of Costa Rica, what looks like a UFO was photographed over Lake Cote (see photo). Some believe the photograph only depicts the wake of a boat.

References

{{Reflist Geography of Alajuela Province Geography of Guanacaste Province Tourist attractions in Alajuela Province Tourist attractions in Guanacaste Province Cote Cote Cote UFO photo