List of lakes of Bolivia

The geography and climate of Bolivia has led to the formation a wide variety of lakes, from salt saturated lakes in the Altiplano to oxbow lakes in the eastern lowlands. Many of Bolivias lakes are formed only seasonally during the austral summer and remains for the rest of the year as salt flats in the altiplano or swamps in the eastern lowlands.

Lakes in the Altiplano basin

All major lakes in the Altiplano belong to the same endorreic basin that when supplied with enough water ends at Salar de Uyuni. Many of the lakes in the altiplano show large fluctuations in area like Poopó Lake that has dried up several times through history. The salt flats of Coipasa and Uyuni have only very small surfaces where water can be observed through all year but are covered each year in summer by up to one meter of water.

Lakes with an area of more than 100 km² in the Altiplano
Name Area (km²) Surface elevation Max depth Salinity
Titicaca 3,790[i 1] 3,810 m.a.s.l. 281 m Brackish
Poopó Lake 1,000 3,686 m.a.s.l. Brackish to salt
Salar de Coipasa 2,218 3,657 m.a.s.l. - Saturated in salt
Salar de Uyuni 10,582 3,663 m.a.s.l. - Saturated in salt
Uru Uru 214 3,686 m.a.s.l. 1.5 m Brackish to salt

Lakes in the lowlands

Lakes in the lowlands with an area of more than 100 km²
Name Area Surface elevation Max depth Salinity
Huaytunas 329.5 km² 146 m.a.s.l. - Fresh
Rogaguado 315 km² 143 m.a.s.l. - Fresh
Rogagua 155.6 km² 164 m.a.s.l. - Fresh
Guachuna 102.8 km² 150 m.a.s.l. - Fresh
El Océano 100 km² - - Fresh

Example

Coipasa Lake


Notes

  1. 3790 km² of the Titicaca lake's total 8.562 km² are inside Bolivian borders
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