Lake Poopo is a miracle of our planet. It is located high in the mountains of South America, on the territory of modern Bolivia. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is salty, and the flora and fauna of this reservoir are filled with amazing inhabitants. How did such an amazing lake form high in the Andes? What does it look like now?
Education Poopo
When the last ice age ended and centuries-old ice began to melt, a huge glacial lake Ballywyan formed in the mountainous part of South America. Gradually, it dried up and about 11 thousand years ago broke up into several reservoirs. The largest of them, existing and at present, is the famous Titicaca, attracting tourists from all over the world. The second largest was Lake Poopo.
After the fall of sea level, the reservoir was left without a natural connection with the oceans. It became drainless, and its filling depended only on the level of precipitation. Desaguadero - the only river connecting the waters of Poopo with the outside world - flows from the huge Titicaki and flows into Poopo.
Where is the lake located?
Poopo can be seen on a map of South America. The geographical coordinates of this place are: 18 ° 46′55 ″ Yu. W, 67 ° 01′29 ″ W v. Altitude - 3700 meters. Like many other lakes in South America, Poopo is a special geological formation created by nature on the site of the former seabed. The rapid emergence of the Andean ridge raised Poopo to an unattainable height - so the lake was isolated from the outside world.
Hydrology
The composition of the water in the pond is unique - an abnormally high salt content makes it unsuitable for drinking or use on the farm. The concentration of saline becomes prohibitive during a period of drought and high air temperature. But in the northern part of the reservoir there is a small area with fresh water - this is the place where the Desaguadero River flows. For the rest, the level of salt concentration fluctuates between “high” and “very high”.
The salt saturation of lake water is a variable value. Perhaps in one place it will be extremely high, in another - it will not go beyond the usual parameters. According to observations, for the two spring months (October-November), the difference in salt concentration between the northern and southern parts of Poopo was 300%.
The second significant factor affecting the salinity index of the lake is the nearby mineral deposits and salt marshes left after the ancient Lake Ballyvian. Depending on weather conditions, pieces of salt marshes can be freely washed out of the rock, making the concentration of saline in Poopo waters even higher.
Flora and fauna
Unique species of fish feel great in the waters of the lake: catfish Mauri, Ispi, Karache. In the mid-twentieth century, ichthyologists launched the process of breeding Atlantic atherin and rainbow trout. Thanks to the efforts of scientists, Lake Bolivia Poopo is a source of fishing for residents of nearby villages and villages: they fish, eat and offer them for sale.
Another feature makes Poopo especially attractive for tourists. Every year, thousands of migratory birds find a temporary refuge on the shores of this reservoir. With the onset of the season, tourists can observe more than thirty species of migratory birds and up to a dozen species of local birds. Lake Poopo is the only habitat of the Andean seagull, Sandpiper Bird, Andean condor and several other endemic species that are rightfully listed in the international Red Book. In addition, tourists can enjoy the rare beauty of the unique flamingos of Lake Poopo. Photos of these amazing birds often adorn the pages of periodicals about nature.
The plant world is represented by various shrubs, herbs, cacti. The main attraction of the Poopo world can be called several types of prickly pears, many of which are really beautiful during the flowering period.
Unknown story
Off the coast of Poopo are roughly visible rough-hewn stone blocks. Their origin is the work of human hands, because each face of the block is smooth, and the shape of the stone is very close to a regular box. Similar blocks of artificial origin were located east of Lake Titicaca. As far as we know, serious archaeological research in this area has not been carried out, so the nature of the mysterious blocks remains a mystery.
Now ordinary people live on the shores of Lake Poopo, most of whom work in mines - there are a lot of minerals in this area. But the quality of life in this area is well below average in the Latin American region. The level of legal and medical assistance is one of the lowest in the country, and the average life expectancy is only 58 years. And this is not only due to hard physical work. In addition to the high salt content, Lake Poopo surprises with a high concentration of heavy metals - arsenic, zinc, cadmium turn the lake water into an explosive mixture, from which poisoning people quickly die. Even imported fresh water does not help - during a drought, lake vapors penetrate into the lungs of the people living here with the air. Heavy metals are deposited in the body, causing rapid death. The poison penetrates through the stomach: the fish living in the lake are simply saturated with heavy metals. Therefore, no one is in a hurry to settle in this region.
Drying out the lake
In early 2016, scientists from the European Space Agency sounded the alarm - Lake Poopo evaporated, disappeared from the world map. An analysis of thousands of satellite imagery confirmed the sad diagnosis - in the near future, the unique Lake Poopo could disappear from the face of the earth. The water surface area decreased tenfold - from three hundred thousand square meters according to observations of 2014 to thirty from extra squares as of January 2016.
ESA scientists associate a similar catastrophe with environmental problems in the area. According to scientists, it will take more than twenty years to restore the lake. And this is if drought does not occur during this period and will not restrain the growth of the water surface. Whether such forecasts will be justified - time will tell.