Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

lake in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

mountains on the border of

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 ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It is often called the highest

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Navigability is also referred to in the broader context of a body of water having sufficient under ...

lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of water and surface area.Grove, M. J., P. A. Baker, S. L. Cross, C. A. Rigsby and G. O. Seltzer 2003 Application of Strontium Isotopes to Understanding the Hydrology and Paleohydrology of the Altiplano, Bolivia-Peru. ''Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology'' 194:281-297. It has a surface elevation of .

Overview

The lake is located at the northern end of the

endorheic An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...

basin high in the

on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the

Puno Region Puno () is a department and region in southeastern Peru. It is the fifth largest department in Peru, after Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It is bordered by Bolivia on the east, the departments of Madre de Dios on the north, Cusc ...

of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department. The lake consists of two nearly separate subbasins connected by the Strait of Tiquina, which is across at the narrowest point. The larger subbasin, ''Lago Grande'' (also called ''Lago Chucuito''), has a mean depth of and a maximum depth of . The smaller subbasin, Wiñaymarka (also called ''Lago Pequeño'', "little lake"), has an average depth of and a maximum depth of .Dejoux, C. and A. Iltis (editors) (1992). ''Lake Titicaca: A Synthesis of Limnological Knowledge''. 68. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston. The overall average depth of the lake is . Five major river systems feed into Lake Titicaca. In order of their relative flow volumes, these are Ramis, Coata, Ilave, Huancané, and Suchez. More than 20 other smaller streams empty into Titicaca. The lake has 41 islands, some of which are densely populated. Having only a single season of free circulation, the lake is

monomictic 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. Cold monomictic lakes Cold monomictic lakes are lakes that are covered by ice throu ...

,Cross, S. L., P. A. Baker, G. O. Seltzer, S. C. Fritz and R. B. Dunbar (2001). Late Quaternary Climate and Hydrology of Tropical South America Inferred from an Isotopic and Chemical Model of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia and Peru. ''Quaternary Research'' 56(1):1–9. 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 Lake Poopó ( ) was a large saline lake in a shallow depression in the Altiplano in Oruro Department, Bolivia, at an altitude of approximately . Due to the lake's length and width (), it made up the eastern half of Oruro, known as a mining r ...

. This only accounts for about 10% of the lake's

water balance The law of water balance states that the inflows to any water system or area is equal to its outflows plus change in storage during a time interval. In hydrology, a water balance equation can be used to describe the flow of water in and out of ...

Evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) refers to the combined processes which move water from the Earth's surface (open water and ice surfaces, bare soil and vegetation) into the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of w ...

, caused by strong winds and intense sunlight at high altitude, balances the remaining 90% of the water loss. It is nearly a closed lake. Since 2000, Lake Titicaca has experienced constantly receding water levels. Between April and November 2009 alone, the water level dropped by , reaching the lowest level since 1949. This drop is caused by shortened rainy seasons and the melting of glaciers feeding the tributaries of the lake.

Water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

is also an increasing concern because cities in the Titicaca

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

grow, sometimes outpacing solid waste and sewage treatment infrastructure. According to the Global Nature Fund (GNF), Titicaca's biodiversity is threatened by water pollution and the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

of new species by humans. A 2011 United Nations report found alarming concentrations of cadmium, arsenic, and lead in various parts of the lake. In 2012, the GNF nominated the lake "Threatened Lake of the Year".

Name

Given the various

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

groups that occupied the Lake Titicaca region, it likely lacked a single, commonly accepted name in prehistoric times and at the time the Spaniards arrived.Standish, C. (2005) ''Ancient Titicaca: The Evolution of Complex Society in Southern Peru and Northern Bolivia.'' Oakland, California, University of California Press. 338 pp. The terms ''titi'' and ''caca'' can be translated in several ways. In

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

, ''titi'' can be translated as either puma,

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, or a heavy metal. The word ''caca'' (''kaka'') can be translated as white or grey hairs of the head and the term ''k’ak’a'' can be translated as either crack or fissure, or alternatively, comb of a bird. According to

Weston La Barre Raoul Weston La Barre (1911–1996) was an American Anthropology, anthropologist, best known for his work in ethnobotany, particularly with regard to Native American mythology, Native-American religion, and for his application of Psychiatry, psych ...

, the Aymara considered in 1948 that the proper name of the lake is ''titiq’aq’a,'' which means gray, discolored, lead-colored puma. This phrase refers to the sacred carved rock found on the

Isla del Sol Isla del Sol (Spanish language, Spanish for "Island of the Sun") is an island in the southern part of Lake Titicaca. It is part of Bolivia, and specifically part of the La Paz Department (Bolivia), La Paz Department. Geographically, the terrain is ...

.La Barre, W. (1948) ''The Aymara Indians of the Lake Titicaca Plateau, Bolivia.'' American Anthropological Association Memoir. no. 68, pp. 208–210. In addition to names including the term ''titi'' and/or ''caca,'' Lake Titicaca was also known as ''Chuquivitu'' in the 16th century. This name can be loosely translated as lance point. This name survives in modern usage in which the large lake is occasionally referred to as ''Lago Chucuito.'' Hombre Aymara y Lago Titicaca

Stanish argues that the logical explanation for the origin of the name Titicaca is a corruption of the term ''thakhsi cala,'' which is the 15th- to the 16th-century name of the sacred rock on the Isla del Sol.Bauer, B., and Stanish, C. (2001) ''Ritual and Pilgrimage in the Ancient Andes.'' Austin, Texas, University of Texas Press. 314 pp. Given the lack of a common name for Lake Titicaca in the 16th century, the Spaniards are thought to have used the name of the site of the most important indigenous shrine in the region, ''thakhsi cala'' on the Isla del Sol, as the name for the lake. In time and with usage, this name developed into ''Titicaca.'' Locally, the lake goes by several names. The southeast quarter of the lake is separate from the main body (connected only by the Strait of Tiquina) and the Bolivians call it Lago Huiñaymarca (also Wiñay Marka, which in Aymara means the Eternal City) and the larger part Lago Chucuito. The large lake also is occasionally referred to as Lago Mayor, and the small lake as Lago Menor. In Peru, these smaller and larger parts are referred to as Lago Pequeño and Lago Grande, respectively.

Highest lake

With a surface area of and an elevation of , Lake Titicaca is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. That claim is generally considered to refer to commercial craft. Numerous smaller lakes around the world are at higher elevations, such as the crater lake of

Ojos del Salado Nevado Ojos del Salado is a Dormant volcano, dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapp ...

, which at an elevation of is the overall highest lake in the world, and the Lake Puma Yumco, which at an elevation of is the highest large lake in the world. For many years, the largest vessel afloat on Lake Titicaca was the 2,200-ton (2,425 U.S. tons), SS ''Ollanta''. Today, the largest vessel is most likely the similarly sized train barge/float '' Manco Capac'', operated by

PeruRail PeruRail is a railway operator providing tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru. It was founded in 1999 by two Peruvian entrepreneurs and the British company Sea Containers. The main line between the port of Matarani, Arequipa ...

Temperature

The cold sources and winds over the lake give it an average surface temperature of . In the winter (June – September), mixing occurs with the deeper waters, which are always between .

Ecology

Lake Titicaca is home to more than 530 aquatic species.Kroll; Hershler; Albrecht; Terrazas; Apaza; Fuentealba; Wolff; and Wilke (2012). ''The endemic gastropod fauna of Lake Titicaca: correlation between molecular evolution and hydrographic history.'' Ecol Evol. Jul 2012; 2(7): 1517–1530. Criadero de peces en el Lago Titicaca cerca de Copacabana Bolivia

Criadero de peces en el Lago Titicaca cerca de Copacabana Bolivia

The lake holds large populations of water birds and was designated as a

Ramsar Site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA), in both Bolivia and Peru, by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports significant populations of many bird species. Several

threatened species A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

such as the huge

Titicaca water frog ''Telmatobius culeus'', commonly known as the Titicaca water frog or Lake Titicaca frog, is a medium-large to very large and endangered species of frog in the family Telmatobiidae. It is entirely aquatic and found only in the Lake Titicaca basi ...

and the flightless Titicaca grebe are largely or entirely restricted to the lake.Fjeldså, J.; & Krabbe, N. (1990). ''Birds of the High Andes: A Manual to the Birds of the Temperate Zone of the Andes and Patagonia, South America.'' In addition to the threatened Titicaca grebe, some of the birds associated with water at Titicaca are the white-tufted grebe, Puna ibis,

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at a height of closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was previously considered a subspecies before being classified ...

Andean gull The Andean gull (''Chroicocephalus serranus'') is a species in subfamily Larinae of the family Laridae, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. ...

Andean lapwing The Andean lapwing (''Vanellus resplendens'') is a species of bird in family Charadriidae, the plovers and their relatives. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The Andean lapwing wa ...

, white-backed stilt, greater yellowlegs,

snowy egret The snowy egret (''Egretta thula'') is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, , which is a diminutive of , 'heron'. The species name ''thula'' is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, a ...

, black-crowned night-heron, Andean coot, common gallinule,

plumbeous rail The plumbeous rail (''Pardirallus sanguinolentus'') is a species of bird in the subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot family Rallidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.HBW and BirdL ...

, various

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s, wren-like rushbird, many-colored rush-tyrant, and

yellow-winged blackbird The yellow-winged blackbird (''Agelasticus thilius'') is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The species' natural habitats include marsh In ecology, a ...

. The Titicaca orestias has likely become extinct (last seen in 1938) due to competition and predation by the introduced

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

and the silverside ''

Odontesthes bonariensis ''Odontesthes bonariensis'' is a species of Neotropical silverside, an euryhaline fish native to fresh, brackish and salt water in south-central and southeastern South America, but also Introduced species, introduced elsewhere. It is often known ...

''. In addition to the Titicaca orestias, native fish species in the lake's basin are other species of ''

Orestias Orestias (), later refounded by Hadrian as Adrianople (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), was an ancient Greek settlement next to the Evros river in Thrace, near or at the site of present-day Edirne, and close to the current border between Turk ...

'', and the catfish '' Trichomycterus dispar'', '' T. rivulatus'', and '' Astroblepus stuebeli'' (the last species not in the lake itself, but in associated ecosystems). The many ''Orestias'' species in Lake Titicaca differ significantly in both habitat preferenceLauzanne, L. (1992). Fish Fauna. pp. 405–448 in: Dejoux, C., eds. (1992). Lake Titicaca: a synthesis of limnological knowledge. and feeding behavior. About 90% of the fish species in the basin are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

,Hales, J., and P. Petry (2013).
Titicaca
''. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Retrieved 11 February 2013 including 23 species of ''Orestias'' that only are found in the lake.Vila, Morales, Scott, Poulin, Veliz, Harrod and Mendez (2013). Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analysis of the genus ''Orestias'' (Teleostei: Cyprinodontidae) in the southern Chilean Altiplano: the relevance of ancient and recent divergence processes in speciation. Journal of Fish Biology 82, 927–943. Titicaca is home to 24 described species of

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks that live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs t ...

s (15 endemics, including several tiny '' Heleobia'' spp.) and less than half a dozen

bivalve Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...

s (all in family

Sphaeriidae Sphaeriidae is a family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, ...

), but in general these are very poorly known and their

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

is in need of a review. The lake also has an endemic species flock of

amphipod Amphipoda () is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphipod species cur ...

s consisting of 11 ''

Hyalella ''Hyalella'' is a genus of amphipods Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scave ...

'' (an additional Titicaca ''Hyalella'' species is nonendemic). Reeds and other aquatic vegetation are widespread in Lake Titicaca. Totora sedges grow in water shallower than , less frequently to , but

macrophyte 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 ...

s, notably '' Chara'' and ''

Potamogeton ''Potamogeton'' is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed (''Elodea canadensis' ...

'', occur down to .Iltis, A., and P. Mourguiart (1992). Higher Plants: Distribution and biomass. pp. 242–253 in: Dejoux, C., eds. (1992). Lake Titicaca: a synthesis of limnological knowledge. In sheltered shallow waters, such as the harbour of

Puno Puno ( Aymara and ) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was established in ...

, ''

Azolla ''Azolla'' (common called mosquito fern, water fern, and fairy moss) is a genus of seven species of aquatic ferns in the family Salviniaceae. They are extremely reduced in form and specialized, having a significantly different appearance to ot ...

'', ''

Elodea ''Elodea'' is a genus of eight species of aquatic plants often called the waterweeds described as a genus in 1803. Classified in the frog's-bit family ( Hydrocharitaceae), ''Elodea'' is native to the Americas and is also widely used as aquarium v ...

'', ''

Lemna ''Lemna'' is a genus of free-floating aquatic plants referred to by the common name "duckweed". They are morphologically divergent members of the arum family Araceae. These rapidly growing plants have found uses as a model system for studies in ...

'' and ''

Myriophyllum ''Myriophyllum'' (water milfoil) is a genus of about 69 species of freshwater aquatic plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The centre of diversity for ''Myriophyllum'' is Australia with 43 recognized species (37 endemic). These submersed aq ...

'' are common.

Geology

The Tinajani Basin, in which Lake Titicaca lies, is an intermontane basin. This basin is a

pull-apart basin In geology, a basin is a region where subsidence generates accommodation space for the deposition of sediments. A pull-apart basin is a structural basin where two overlapping (en echelon) strike-slip faults or a fault bend create an area of crust ...

created by strike-slip movement along regional faults starting in the late

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

and ending in the late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. The initial development of the Tinajani Basin is indicated by

volcanic rock Volcanic rocks (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) are rocks formed from lava erupted from a volcano. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic rock is artificial, and in nature volcanic rocks grade into hypabyssal and me ...

s, which accumulated between 27 and 20 million years ago within this basin. They lie upon an angular

unconformity An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval ...

which cuts across pre-basin

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

Lacustrine 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 t ...

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s of the Lower Tinajani Formation, which are exposed within the Tinajani Basin, demonstrate the presence of a pre-Quaternary, ancestral Lake Titicaca within it between 18 and 14 million years ago (Mya).Marocco, R., R. Baudino, and A. Lavenu, 1995, ''Intermontane Late Paleogene–Neogene Basins of the Andes of Ecuador and Peru: Sedimentologic and Tectonic Characteristics.'' in A.J. Tankard, R. Suárez Soruco, and H.J. Welsink, eds., pp. 597–613, Petroleum basins of South America: Memoir no. 62. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Little is known about the prehistory of Lake Titicaca between 14 Mya and 370,000 BP because the lake sediments dating to this period lie buried beneath the bottom of Lake Titicaca and have not yet been sampled by continuous coring.Fritz, S. C., P. A. Baker, G. O. Seltzer, A. Ballantyne, P. Tapia, H. Cheng, and R. L. Edwards, 2007, ''Quaternary glaciation and hydrologic variation in the South American tropics as reconstructed from the Lake Titicaca drilling project.'' Quaternary Research 68(3):410–420. The Lake Titicaca drilling project recovered a 136-m-long

drill core A modern core drill is a drill specifically designed to remove a cylinder of material, much like a hole saw. The material left inside the drill bit is referred to as the ''core''. Core drills used in metal are called annular cutters. Core d ...

of sediments from the bottom of Lake Titicaca at a depth of and at a location just east of Isla del Sol. This core contains a continuous record of lake sedimentation and paleoenvironmental conditions for Lake Titicaca back to about 370,000 BP. For this period of time, Lake Titicaca was typically fresher and had higher lake levels during periods of expanded regional glaciation that corresponded to global

glacial period A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

s. During periods of reduced regional glaciation that corresponded to global

interglacial An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene i ...

periods, Lake Titicaca had typically low lake levels.Fritz, S.C., P.A. Baker, P. Tapia, T. Spanbauer, and K. Westover (2012) ''Evolution of the Lake Titicaca basin and its diatom flora over the last ~370,000 years.'' Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 317–318:93–103. Lacustrine sediments and associated

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

s provide evidence for the past existence of five major prehistoric lakes that occupied the Tinajani Basin during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

. Within the northern Altiplano (Tinajani Basin), these prehistoric lakes were Lake Mataro at an elevation of , Lake Cabana at an elevation of , Lake Ballivián at an elevation of , Lake (North) Minchin at an elevation of , and Lake (North) Tauca at an elevation . The age of Lake Mataro is uncertain—it may date back to the Late Pliocene. Lake Cabana possibly dates to the Middle Pleistocene. Lake Ballivián existed between 120,000 and 98,000 BP. Two high lake stands, between 72,000 and 68,000 BP and 44,000–34,000 BP, have been discerned for Lake Minchin within the Altiplano. Another ancient lake in the area is Ouki. The high lake levels of Lake Tauca have been dated as having occurred between 18,100 and 14,100 BP.Clapperton, C. M., 1993, ''Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of South America.'' Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 779 pp.Rouchy, J. M., M. Servant, M. Fournier, and C. Causse, 1996, ''Extensive carbonate algal bioherms in Upper Pleistocene saline lakes of the central Altiplano of Bolivia'': Sedimentology 43(6):973–993.Placzek, C., J. Quade, and P. J. Patchett, 2006, ''Geochronology and stratigraphy of Late Pleistocene lake cycles on the Southern Bolivian Altiplano: implications for causes of tropical climate change.'' Geological Society of America Bulletin 118(5-6):515–532.

Underwater archaeology

Underwater excavations and surveys in and around Khoa reef, near the Island of Khoa, have recovered thousands of artifacts.Williams, A.R., 2020.
Centuries-old Inca offering discovered in sacred lake.
' National Geographic. These artifacts consist of ceramic feline incense burners, carved juvenile llamas, and well-crafted metal, shell, and stone ornaments. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Lake Titicaca was a mythical place and the location of a pilgrimage complex for the

Incas The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fr ...

. Part of this complex included Khoa reef as a location where offerings were dropped into the lake. Delaere, C., Capriles, J.M. and Stanish, C., 2019. ''Underwater ritual offerings in the Island of the Sun and the formation of the Tiwanaku state.'' Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116(17): pp.8233-8238.Delaere, C. and Capriles, J.M., 2020. ''The context and meaning of an intact Inca underwater offering from Lake Titicaca.'' Antiquity, 94(376), pp.1030-1041.

Climate

Lake Titicaca has a borderline

subtropical highland An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of alpine cli ...

with cool to cold temperatures for most of the year. The average annual precipitation is 610 mm (24 in) mostly falling in summer thunderstorms. Winters are dry with very cold nights and mornings and warm afternoons. Below are the average temperatures of the town of

Juliaca Juliaca (; Quechua language, Quechua and ) is the capital of San Román Province in the Puno Region of southeastern Peru. It is the region's largest city with a population of 276,110 inhabitants (2017 Peru Census, 2017). On the Altiplano, Juliaca ...

, in the northern part of the lake.

Islands

Uros

The "Floating Islands" are small, human-made islands constructed by the

Uros The Uru or Uros () are an indigenous people of Bolivia and Peru. They live on a still-growing group of about 120 self-fashioned floating islands in Lake Titicaca near Puno. They form three main groups: the Uru-Chipaya, Uru-Murato, and Uru ...

(or Uru) people from layers of cut totora, a thick, buoyant sedge that grows abundantly in the shallows of Lake Titicaca. The Uros harvest the sedges that naturally grow on the lake's banks to make the islands by continuously adding sedges to the surface. According to legend, the Uru people originated in the Amazon and migrated to the area of Lake Titicaca in the

pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

, where they were oppressed by the local population and were unable to secure land of their own. They built the sedge islands, which could be moved into deep water or to different parts of the lake, as necessary, for greater safety from their hostile neighbors on land. Golden in color, many of the islands measure about , and the largest are roughly half the size of a football field. Each island contains several thatched houses, typically belonging to members of a single extended family. Some of the islands have watchtowers and other buildings, also constructed of sedges. Historically, most of the Uros islands were located near the middle of the lake, about from the shore; however, in 1986, after a major storm devastated the islands, many Uros rebuilt closer to shore. , about 1,200 Uros lived on an archipelago of 60 artificial islands, clustering in the western corner of the lake near

, Titicaca's major Peruvian port town. The islands have become one of Peru's tourist attractions, allowing the Uros to supplement their hunting and fishing by conveying visitors to the islands by motorboat and selling handicrafts.

Amantani

Amantani is another small island on Lake Titicaca populated by

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

speakers. About 4,000 people live in 10 communities on the roughly circular 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 Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

, 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. The islanders hold nightly traditional dance shows for the tourists, where they offer to dress them up in their traditional clothes and allow them to participate.

Taquile

Taquile is a hilly island located east of Puno. It is narrow and long and was used as a prison during the Spanish Colony and into the 20th century. In 1970, it became property of the Taquile people, who have inhabited the island since then. The current population is around 2,200. The island is in size (maximum measurements), with an area of . The highest point of the island is above sea level, and the main village is at . Pre-Inca ruins are found on the highest part of the island, and agricultural terraces on hillsides. From the hillsides of Taquile, one has a view of the tops of Bolivian mountains. The inhabitants, known as ''Taquileños'', are southern Quechua speakers. Taquile is especially known for its handicraft tradition, which is regarded as being of the highest quality. "Taquile and Its Textile Art" were honored by being proclaimed "

Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage—such traditions, rituals, dance, and knowledge—and ...

" by UNESCO. Knitting is exclusively performed by males, starting at age eight. The women exclusively make yarn and weave. Taquileans are also known for having created an innovative, community-controlled tourism model, offering home stays, transportation, and restaurants to tourists. Ever since tourism started coming to Taquile in the 1970s, the ''Taquileños'' have slowly lost control over the mass day-tourism operated by non-Taquileans. They have thus developed alternative tourism models, including lodging for groups, cultural activities, and local guides who have completed a 2-year training program. The local Travel Agency, Munay Taquile, has been established to regain control over tourism. The people in Taquile run their society based on community collectivism and on the Inca moral code ''ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhilla,'' (do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy). The island is divided into six sectors or ''suyus'' for crop rotation purposes. The economy is based on fishing, terraced farming based on potato cultivation, and tourist-generated income from the roughly 40,000 tourists who visit each year.

Isla del Sol

Situated on the Bolivian side of the lake with regular boat links to the town of Copacabana, Bolivia,

("Island of the Sun") is one of the largest islands of the lake. Geographically, the terrain is harsh; it is a rocky, hilly island. No motor vehicles or paved roads are on the island. The main economic activity of the approximately 800 families on the island is farming, with fishing and tourism augmenting the subsistence economy. Over 180 ruins remain on the island. Most of these date to the Inca period around the 15th century AD. Many hills on the island contain terraces, which adapt steep and rocky terrain to agriculture. Among the ruins on the island are the Sacred Rock, a labyrinth-like building called

Chinkana Chinkana ( Quechua for labyrinth)Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Quechua-Spanish dictionary, Cusco, Peru, 2005 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) is an archaeological site in Bolivia situated on the Isla del Sol Isla del Sol (Spanish language, S ...

, Kasa Pata, and Pilco Kaima. In the religion of the Incas, the sun god was believed to have been born here. During 1987–92,

Johan Reinhard Johan Reinhard (born December 13, 1943) is an American anthropologist and archaeologist. Currently, he is a Research Professor at Future Generations University. formerly Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. He is also a sen ...

directed underwater archaeological investigations off of the Island of the Sun, recovering Inca and Tiahuanaco offerings. These artifacts are currently on display in the site museum of the village of Challapampa.

Isla de la Luna

Isla de la Luna Isla de la Luna (translation: "Island of the Moon") is an island in La Paz Department, Bolivia. It is situated in Lake Titicaca, east of Isla del Sol ("Island of the Sun"). Legends in Inca mythology refer to the island as the location where Vir ...

is situated east from the bigger Isla del Sol. Both islands belong to the La Paz Department of Bolivia. According to legends that refer to

Inca mythology Inca mythology of the Inca Empire was based on pre-Inca beliefs that can be found in the Huarochirí Manuscript, and in pre-Inca cultures including Chavín, Paracas, Moche, and the Nazca culture. The mythology informed and supported Inca re ...

Isla de la Luna (Spanish for "island of the moon") is where

Viracocha Viracocha (also Wiraqocha, Huiracocha; Quechua Wiraqucha) is the creator and supreme deity in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. According to the myth Viracocha had human appearance and was generally consid ...

commanded the rising of the moon. Ruins of a supposed Inca nunnery (Mamakuna) occupy the eastern shore. Archaeological excavations indicate that the

Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and in ...

peoples (around 650–1000 AD) built a major temple on the Island of the Moon. Pottery vessels of local dignitaries dating from this period have been excavated on islands in Lake Titicaca. Two of them were found in the 19th century and are now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

in London. The structures seen on the island today were built by the Inca (''circa'' 1450–1532) directly over the earlier Tiwanaku ones.

Suriki

Suriki lies in the Bolivian part of lake Titicaca (in the southeastern part also known as lake Wiñaymarka). Suriki is thought to be the last place where the art of

reed boat Reed boats and rafts, along with dugout canoes and other rafts, are among the oldest known types of boats. Often used as traditional fishing boats, they are still used in a few places around the world, though they have generally been replaced wit ...

construction survives, at least as late as 1998. Craftsmen from Suriqui helped

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

in the construction of several of his projects, such as the reed boats '' Ra II'' and ''Tigris'', and a balloon gondola.

Transport

The

dual gauge Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it. Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...

car float A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of Lighter (barge), lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it i ...

''Manco Capac'' links

's line at Puno with the Bolivian railways' line at Guaqui.

History

The lake has had a number of steamships, each of which was built in the United Kingdom in "knock down" form with bolts and nuts, disassembled into many hundreds of pieces, transported to the lake, and then riveted together and launched. In 1862 Thames Ironworks on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

built the iron-hulled

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s SS ''Yavari'' and SS ''Yapura'' under contract to the

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was f ...

Foundry of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. The ships were designed as combined cargo, passenger, and

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s for the

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

. After several years' delay in delivery from the Pacific coast to the lake, ''Yavari'' was launched in 1870 and ''Yapura'' in 1873. ''Yavari'' was long, but in 1914 her hull was lengthened for extra cargo capacity and she was re-engined as a

motor vessel A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship Marine propulsion, propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often Ship prefix, prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were develo ...

. In November 1883, during the final phase of the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

, the Chilean military command sent the to the lake, via railroad, from

Mollendo Mollendo is a town on the Pacific Ocean in southern Peru. It is located in the Arequipa Region and is the capital of both the Islay Province and the Mollendo District. Mollendo was the main port on the Peruvian southern coast until Matarani was ...

to control the area. It was the first warship to navigate the lake. In 1892,

William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scotland, Scottish shipbuilder, shipbuilding company. History The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships a ...

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

on the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

in Scotland built . She was long and was launched on the lake in 1893. In 1905,

Earle's Shipbuilding Earle's Shipbuilding was an engineering company that was based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1845 to 1932. Earle Brothers The company was started in Hull in 1845 by two brothers, Charles and William Earle. The firm was made ...

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

on the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

built . By then, a railway served the lake, so the ship was delivered in kit form by rail. At long and 1,809 tons (1,994 U.S. tons), ''Inca'' was the lake's largest ship thus far. In the 1920s, Earle's supplied a new bottom for the ship, which also was delivered in kit form. Trade continued to grow, so in 1930, Earle's built . Her parts were landed at the Pacific Ocean port of

and brought by rail to the lake port of Puno. At long and 2,200 tons (425 U.S. tons), she was considerably larger than the ''Inca'', so first a new

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...

had to be built to build her. She was launched in November 1931. In 1975, ''Yavari'' and ''Yapura'' were returned to the Peruvian Navy, which converted ''Yapura'' into a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

and renamed her BAP ''Puno''. The Navy discarded ''Yavari'', but in 1987, charitable interests bought her and started restoring her. She is now moored at Puno Bay and provides static tourist accommodation while her restoration continues. ''Coya'' was beached in 1984, but restored as a floating restaurant in 2001. ''Inca'' survived until 1994, when she was broken up. ''Ollanta'' is no longer in scheduled service, but PeruRail has been leasing her for tourist charter operations.

Notes

References

External links

Lake Titicaca – The Highest Navigable Lake in the World

Management issues in the Lake Titicaca and Lake Poopo system: Importance of developing a water budget

Peru Cultural Society – Lake Titicaca History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titicaca Ancient lakes Mountain lakes Important Bird Areas of Bolivia Important Bird Areas of Peru Ramsar sites in Bolivia Ramsar sites in Peru Lakes of Peru Lakes of La Paz Department (Bolivia) Bolivia–Peru border International lakes of South America Lakes of the Department of Puno Altiplano