Lake Izabal (), also known as the Golfo Dulce, is the largest lake in
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
with a surface area of and a maximum depth of . The
Polochic River is the largest river that drains into the lake. The lake, which is only a metre above sea level, drains into the
Gulf of Honduras of the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
through the smaller
Golfete Dulce, which is at sea level, and the navigable
Rio Dulce.
The well preserved colonial
Castillo de San Felipe de Lara guarded this lake against
pirate attacks, and there are some ancient sunken ships nearby. It is home to several species including the
Manatee,
Jaguar,
Spider Monkey,
Blue-eye cichlids, and
Howler Monkey, and is a popular place for birdwatching.
Culture
There are many
indigenous communities surrounding the lake, namely the
Mayas Q'eqchi'.
The
Castle of San Felipe de Lara, constructed in 1652 in honor of judge Antonio Lara Mangravo, was built to protect the region from pirates.
References
External links
Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrolagía (INSIVUMEH)Lake description
Izabal
Izabal, Lake
Geography of the Izabal Department
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