Lake Güija is a lake in Central America. The lake is situated on the border between Guatemala and El Salvador and has an area of 45 km2 (17 sq mi), of which approximately 32 km2 (12 sq mi) lies in El Salvador.[2][3]
| Lake Güija | |
|---|---|
| Lago de Güija (Spanish) | |
 Lake Güija with Volcán de San Diego in the upper right | |
  Lake Güija | |
| Location | Jutiapa, Metapan, Santa Ana |
| Coordinates | 14°16′N 89°31′W / 14.267°N 89.517°W |
| Type | Volcanogenic lake |
| Ostúa River | |
| Basin countries | Guatemala, El Salvador |
Surface area | 45 km2 (17 sq mi) |
Surface elevation | 430 m (1,410 ft) |
Official name | Complejo Güija |
| Designated | 16 December 2010 |
| Reference no. | 1924[1] |
History
editThe Lenca, Xinca, Chʼortiʼ, and Pipil inhabited the region around the lake. Diego García de Palacio wrote in the 16th century that two rocks near the lake were used by the indigenous population for sacrifice and religious worship.[4] Twenty archaeological sites dating to the Late Preclassic (400 BC–200 AD) and Postclassic (900–1550 AD) have been recorded in the area.[5]
Guatemala and El Salvador placed their border across Lake Güija in 1938, with 7/10ths of the lake inside El Salvador and the remainder in Guatemala. Of the lake's drainage basin, 2,050 square kilometers (790 sq mi) is inside Guatemala.[6] The two countries signed an agreement on sharing the water resources of the lake in 1957.[7]
This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on September 21, 1992, in the Mixed (Cultural + Natural) category.[5]
Geography
editAs of 1959, the area of the lake was 42 square kilometers (16 sq mi) and the drainage basin was 2,560 square kilometers (990 sq mi). The Ostúa and Cusmapa rivers are the principal tributaries to the lake.[6]
The lake is of volcanic origin and was formed by a large basaltic lava flow from Volcán de San Diego in the San Diego volcanic field which blocked the Güija depression's original drainage.[8]
Important Bird Area
editThe lake and its surrounds has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of range-restricted birds, including white-bellied chachalacas, orange-fronted parakeets, Nutting's flycatchers and white-throated magpie-jays.[9]
References
edit- ↑ "Complejo Güija". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ↑ "Lago de Güija". CTPT (in Spanish). SICA. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ↑ Herrera, Néstor (2005). "Evaluación Ambiental del complejo Lago de Güija - Informe final" (PDF). MARN. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ↑ Stone 2014, p. 58.
- 1 2 "Lake Guija". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 21 May 2026.
- 1 2 Hirsch 1959, p. 172.
- ↑ Lee 1995, p. 542.
- ↑ "San Diego Volcano". GVP. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 18 July 2008.
- ↑ "Lake Güija". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
Works cited
edit- Hirsch, Abraham (1959). "A Proposed International Hydroelectric Development Project in Central America: Lake Guija". Land Economics. 35 (2). University of Wisconsin Press: 172–176. doi:10.2307/3144785. JSTOR 3144785.
- Lee, Terence (1995). "The Management of Shared Water Resources in Latin America". Natural Resources Journal. 35 (3). University of New Mexico: 541–553. doi:10.2307/24885658. JSTOR 24885658.
- Stone, Andrea (2014). "Spiritual Journeys, Secular Guises: Rock Art and Elite Pilgrimage at Naj Tunich Cave". Mexicon. 36 (2). Mexicon: 49–64. doi:10.2307/43857664. JSTOR 43857664.