| Lake Tota | |
|---|---|
 Satellite view of Lake Tota | |
  Lake Tota  Lake Tota | |
| Location | Boyacá |
| Coordinates | 5°32′24″N72°55′12″W / 5.54000°N 72.92000°W /5.54000; -72.92000 |
| Basin countries | Colombia |
| Max. length | 12 km (7.5 mi) |
| Max. width | 7.2 km (4.5 mi) |
| Surface area | 55 km2 (21 sq mi) |
| Max. depth | 62 m (203 ft) |
| Surface elevation | 3,015 m (9,892 ft) |
| Islands | San Pedro, Santo Domingo, La Custodia, Santa Helena, Cerro Chico |
| Settlements | Aquitania,Cuítiva,Iza,Tota |
Lake Tota (Spanish:Lago de Tota) is the largestlake inColombia, located in the east ofBoyacá department, inside theSugamuxi Province[1], it is the source of theUpia River which flows into theOrinoco River basin.
The major town on the lake isAquitania, located on its eastern side. Other nearby villages includeTota,Iza andCuítiva.
Lake Tota was an important religious center for theMuisca culture. The nameTota comes from theChibcha language of theMuisca and according to linguist Mariana Escribano its main name refers to "Astronomic Observatory", relating to itssacred uses for that culture. There are legends which relate to the way the lake was formed by the hands of ancient ancestors.
The area around Lake Tota is one of the majoronion producing regions of Colombia. The western shore of the lake is a popular tourist destination for Colombians.
The average water temperature of 13 °C allowed for the introduction ofrainbow trout (Onchorynchus mykiss) which created a valuable wild fishery (a mounted specimen in Restaurante Lucho, Aquitania, reportedly early in the 1990s, weighed 7 kg) and cage culture aquaculture, but predation on native fish species has led to the probable extinction of the pez graso or grease fish (Rhizosomichthys totae) believed native to only this lake.
Lake Tota is a breeding ground for several threatened or endangered bird species, including theleast bittern (Ixobrychus exilis bogotensis), theColombian ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis andina), theBogotá rail (Rallus semiplumbeus) andApolinar's wren (Cistothorus apolinari). The last confirmed sighting of theColombian grebe (Podiceps andinus), now considered to be extinct, was at Lake Tota.[1]
In theChibcha language of theMuisca people, Tota means "Farmfields of the river".[2]
Lake Tota consists of an area of 55.1 square kilometres (21.3 sq mi) with a length of 11.8 kilometers, a width of 6.2 kilometers and a depth of 58 meters being the largest natural lake in Colombia.
| Climate data for Lake Tota (Tunel El), elevation 3,000 m (9,800 ft), (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) | 16.8 (62.2) | 17.0 (62.6) | 16.3 (61.3) | 15.8 (60.4) | 14.9 (58.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 14.5 (58.1) | 15.2 (59.4) | 15.7 (60.3) | 16.1 (61.0) | 16.6 (61.9) | 15.8 (60.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 11.6 (52.9) | 11.7 (53.1) | 11.8 (53.2) | 11.8 (53.2) | 11.8 (53.2) | 11.4 (52.5) | 10.9 (51.6) | 10.9 (51.6) | 11.2 (52.2) | 11.4 (52.5) | 11.6 (52.9) | 11.8 (53.2) | 11.5 (52.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 6.8 (44.2) | 7.3 (45.1) | 7.6 (45.7) | 8.2 (46.8) | 8.5 (47.3) | 8.2 (46.8) | 7.7 (45.9) | 7.7 (45.9) | 7.5 (45.5) | 7.6 (45.7) | 7.9 (46.2) | 7.4 (45.3) | 7.7 (45.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 17.1 (0.67) | 30.4 (1.20) | 57.2 (2.25) | 95.7 (3.77) | 87.8 (3.46) | 70.1 (2.76) | 77.9 (3.07) | 58.8 (2.31) | 62.5 (2.46) | 87.2 (3.43) | 81.4 (3.20) | 23.9 (0.94) | 749.9 (29.52) |
| Average precipitation days | 4 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 159 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 80 | 81 | 82 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 82 | 84 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 241.8 | 183.5 | 167.4 | 132.0 | 139.5 | 129.0 | 139.5 | 130.2 | 132.0 | 145.7 | 156.0 | 213.9 | 1,910.5 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 7.8 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 6.9 | 5.2 |
| Source:Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales[3] | |||||||||||||
Treasures of Colombia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Wills, Fernando; et al. (2001).Nuestro patrimonio – 100 tesoros de Colombia [Our heritage – 100 treasures of Colombia] (in Spanish).El Tiempo. pp. 1–311.ISBN 958-8089-16-6. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Recreational dive sites in Colombia | ||
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| Caribbean coast |  | |
| Caribbean insular | ||
| Pacific | ||
| Andean | ||
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