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Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It sits 3,812 m above sea level making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America.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.Rigsby, C., P. A. Baker and M. S. Aldenderfer 2003 Fluvial History of the Rio Ilave Valley, Peru, and Its Relationship to Climate and Human History. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 194:165-185.
The lake is located at the northern end of the endorheic Altiplano basin high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department.
The lake is composed of two nearly separate sub-basins that are connected by the Strait of Tiquina which is across at the narrowest point. The larger sub-basin, Lago Grande (also called Lago Chucuito) has a mean depth of and a maximum depth of . The smaller sub-basin, Lago Huinaimarca (also called Lago Pequeno) has a mean 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 .
Lake Titicaca is fed by rainfall and meltwater from glaciers on the sierras that abut the Altiplano. Five major river systems feed into Lake TiticacaRoche, M. A., J. Bourges, J. Cortes and R. Mattos 1992 Climatology and Hydrology of the Lake Titicaca Basin. In Lake Titicaca: A Synthesis of Limnological Knowledge, edited by C. Dejoux and A. Iltis, pp. 63-88. Monographiae Biologicae. vol. 68, H. J. Dumont and M. J. A. Werger, general editor. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston.—in order of their relative flow volumes these are: Ramis, Coata, Ilave, Huancane, and Suchez.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. More than 20 other smaller rivers empty into Titicaca, and the lake has 41 islands, some of which are densely populated.
Having only a single season of free circulation, the lake is monomicticCross, 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.Mourguiart, P., T. Correge, D. Wirrmann, J. Argollo, M. E. Montenegro, M. Pourchet and P. Carbonel 1998 Holocene Palaeohydrology of Lake Titicaca Estimated from an Ostracod-Based Transfer Function. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 143:51-72. and water passes through Lago Huinaimarca and flows out the single outlet at the Rio DesaguaderoBaucom, P. C. and C. A. Rigsby 1999 Climate and Lake Level History of the Northern Altiplano, Bolivia, as Recorded in Holocene Sediments of the Rio Desaguadero. Journal of Sedimentary Research 69(3):597-611., which then flows south through Bolivia to Lake Poopo. This only accounts for about 10% of the lake's water balance. Evapotranspiration, caused by strong winds and intense sunlight at altitude, balances the remaining 90% of the water input. It is nearly a closed lake.Dejoux, C. and A. Iltis (editors) 1992 Lake Titicaca: A Synthesis of Limnological Knowledge. 68. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston.
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.Talbi, A., A. Coudrain, P. Ribstein and B. Pouyaud 1999 Computation of the Rainfall of Lake Titicaca Catchment During the Holocene. Geosciences de Surface 329:197-203.Islands
Uros
Titicaca is notable for a population of people who live on the Uros, a group of 42 or so artificial islands made of floating reeds .
These islands have become a major tourist attraction for Peru, drawing excursions from the lakeside city of Puno. Their original purpose was defensive, and they could be moved if a threat arose. Many of the islands contain watchtowers largely constructed of reeds.
Amantani
Amantani is another small island on Lake Titicaca populated by Quechua speakers. About 800 families live in six villages on the basically circular island. There are two mountain peaks, called Pachatata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth), and ancient ruins on the top of both peaks. The hillsides that rise up from the lake are terraced and planted with wheat, potatoes, and vegetables. Most of the small fields are worked by hand. Long stone fences divide the fields, and cattle, sheep, and alpacas graze on the hillsides.
There are no cars on the island, and no hotels. A few small stores sell basic goods, and there is a health clinic and school. Electricity was produced by a generator and provided limited to a couple of hours each day, but with the rising price of the petrolium, they no longer use the generator. Most families use candles or flash lights powered by batteries or hand-cranks.
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 fit a code by the tour companies that help them. Guests typically take food staples as a gift or school supplies for the children on the island. They hold nightly traditional dance shows for the tourists where they offer to dress them up in their traditional clothes and participate.
Taquile
Taquile is a hilly island located 35 kilometres east of Puno. It's narrow and long, and was used as a prison during the Spanish Colony and well into the beginning of the 20th century. In 1970 it became property of the Taquile people, who inhabit the island since then . Taquiles have maintained their traditions and culture pretty much unchanged for centuries, and are renowned in the area for their high-quality, colourful textiles. Pre-Inca ruins are found on the highest part of the island, and agricultural terraces on hillsides. The main town in the island, also called Taquile, counts a textile cooperative shop, some small restaurants, and available rooms in family houses where visitors can stay for the night.
Isla del Sol
Situated on the Bolivian side of the lake with regular boat links to the Bolivian town of Copacabana, Isla del Sol ("Island of the sun")is one of the lake's largest islands.
The chronicler Bernabe Cobo documented two versions of an Inca origin myth that took place on the northern part of this island.Cobo, Bernabe 1990[1653] History of the Inca Empire. University of Texas, Austin. The first Inca Manco Capac is said to have emerged from a prominent crag in a large sandstone outcrop known as Titikala (the Sacred Rock). Manco Capac is the son of Inti the Andean deity identified as the sun. In one version of the myth, the ancient people of the province were without light in the sky for many days and grew frightened of the darkness. Finally, the people saw the Sun emerge from the crag and believed it was the Sun's dwelling place. In another version related by Cobo, others believed the crag was dedicated to the Sun because it hid under the crag during a great Flood. Isla del Sol was the first land that appeared after the flood waters began to recede and the Sun emerged from Titikala to illuminate the sky once again. A temple was built at this rock and later expanded by the 10th Inca Tupac Inca Yupanqui. He built a covenant for mamaconas (chosen women) and a tambo (inn) for visiting pilgrims.
Excavations at the archaeological site of Ch'uxuqullu, located on a small peak above the Bay of Challa, led to the recovery of Archaic Preceramic remains that radiocarbon dated to about 2200 cal BC. Stanish, Charles, Richard L. Burger, Lisa M. Cipolla, Michael D. Glascock and Esteban Quelima 2002 Evidence for Early Long-Distance Obsidian Exchange and Watercraft Use from the Southern Lake Titicaca Basin of Bolivia and Peru. Latin American Antiquity 13(4):444-454. Eight obsidian flakes were recovered from this context, and Neutron Activation Analysis of three of the flakes revealed that all of them were from the Chivay obsidian source which is located in the Colca Canyon, Department of Arequipa. The presence of Chivay obsidian is clear evidence that inhabitants of the island were participating in a a wider network of exchange.
According to one bathymetric modelYbert, Jean-Pierre 1992 Ancient Lake Environments as Deduced from Pollen Analysis. In Lake Titicaca: A Synthesis of Limnological Knowledge, edited by C. Dejoux and A. Iltis, pp. 49-62. Monographiae Biologicae. vol. 68, H. J. Dumont and M. J. A. Werger, general editor. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston., there is no path between the shore edge and the Island of the Sun that does not pass over areas where the lake bottom reaches a depth of or greater. Paleoclimate studies indicate that around 3100 BC the level of Lake Titicaca would have been as much as lower than modern conditions, but that it had reached near modern levels by about 2000 BC.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.Baker, Paul A., Catherine Rigsby, Geoffrey O Seltzer, Sherlyn C. Fritz, Tim K. Lowenstein, Miklas Bacher, P. and Carlos Veliz 2001 Tropical Climate Changes at Millennial and Orbital Timescales on the Bolivian Altiplano. Nature 409(February 8):698-701.Baker, Paul A., Geoffrey O Seltzer, Sherlyn C. Fritz, Robert B. Dunbar, Matthew J. Grove, Pedro M. Tapia, Scott L. Cross, Harold D. Rowe and James P. Broda 2001 The History of South American Tropical Precipitation for the Past 25,000 Years. Science 291:640-643. Thus, at 2200 BC lake levels were probably lower than at present. Data from Ch'uxuqullu could suggest that lake shore cultures were using well-developed watercraft technology during the Archaic period. Stanish, Charles, Richard L. Burger, Lisa M. Cipolla, Michael D. Glascock and Esteban Quelima 2002 Evidence for Early Long-Distance Obsidian Exchange and Watercraft Use from the Southern Lake Titicaca Basin of Bolivia and Peru. Latin American Antiquity 13(4):444-454.
Underwater archaeological investigations conducted off the Island of the Sun from 1989-92 led to the discovery of both Inca and Tiahuanaco artifacts. These are now on display at a site museum in Challapampa.Reinhard, Johan "Underwater Archaeological Research in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia" in Ancient America: Contributions to New World Archaeology, 1992. N. Saunders (ed.), Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 117-143. Today the economy of the island is mainly driven by tourism revenues, but subsistence agriculture and fishing are widely practiced.
Suriqui
Suriqui lies in the Bolivian part of lake Titicaca (in the south-eastern part also known as lake Huinamarca).
Suriqui is thought to be the last place where the art of reed boat construction survives, at least as late as in 1998. Craftsmen from Suriqui helped Thor Heyerdahl in the construction of several of his projects, such as the reed boats Ra II and Tigris, and a balloon gondola.
Name
The origin of the name Titicaca is unknown. It has been translated as "Rock Puma", allegedly because of its resemblance to the shape of a puma hunting a rabbit, combining words from the local languages Quechua and Aymara, and as well as translated as "Crag of Lead." Locally, the lake goes by several names. Because the southeast quarter of the lake is separate from the main body (connected only by the Strait of Tiquina), the Bolivians call it Lago Huinaymarca and the larger part Lago Chucuito. In Peru, these smaller and larger parts are referred to as Lago Pequeno and Lago Grande, respectively.
Other notable facts
The Bolivian Naval Force uses the lake to carry out naval exercises, maintaining an active navy despite being landlocked.
The partly-salt Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is the only body of water in South America bigger than Titicaca, at about , but some say it should be classified as a sea because it is connected to the ocean.
In August 2007 a small meteor landed in mud. The impact crater is about in diameter. Scientists have recovered several small pieces of the impact object, which is stony rather than metallic.
External links
World lake database entry for Lake Titicaca
Bolivian Navy and Naval Ensign
Ancient Temple found under the waters of Lake Titicaca
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Lake Titicaca
