Laguna Colorada

Shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia

For the lake named Pukaqucha or Laguna Colorada in the Puno Region, Peru, see Pukaqucha (Puno).

Laguna Colorada

Andean Flamingos

Laguna Colorada

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Laguna Colorada

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Location| Potosí, Bolivia
Coordinates| 22°11′55″S 67°46′52″W﻿ / ﻿22.19861°S 67.78111°W﻿ / -22.19861; -67.78111
Type| salt lake[1]
Primary inflows| Rio Sulor[2]
Basin countries| Bolivia
Max. length| 10.7 km (6.6 mi)
Max. width| 9.6 km (6.0 mi)
Surface area| 60 km2 (23 sq mi)
Average depth| 0.35 m (1 ft 2 in)
Max. depth| 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Shore length1| 35 km (22 mi)
Surface elevation| 4,278 m (14,035 ft)
Islands| numerous, sometimes huge borax deposit islands[1]

Ramsar Wetland

Official name| Los Lípez
Designated| 27 June 1990
Reference no.| 489[3]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon) is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the border with Chile, notable for the reddish color of its waters.

## Contents

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The lake contains borax islands, whose white color contrasts with the reddish color of its waters, which is caused by red sediments and pigmentation of some algae.[4]

Wide view of Laguna Colorada, showing the lake's red waters and islands made of borax.

## Geography

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Laguna Colorada is part of the Los Lípez (formerly Laguna Colorada) Ramsar wetland. It was listed as a "Ramsar Wetland of International Importance" in 1990. On, July 13, 2009, the site was expanded from 513.18 to 14,277.17 km2 (5,512.45 sq mi) to include the surrounding high Andean endorheic, hypersaline and brackish lakes and associated wetlands (known as bofedales).[5]

## Fauna

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James's flamingos abound in the area.[4] It is also possible to find Andean and Chilean flamingos, but in lesser quantities.

A group of flamingoes in Laguna Colorada

## See also

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Llama dam and her cria at Laguna Colorada.

* Laguna Verde, a nearby salt lake notable for its green coloration
* Laguna Blanca, a nearby salt lake notable for its white coloration
* Mount Nelly

## References

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1. ^ a b Amusing Planet website, at Laguna Colorada: The Red Lagoon of Bolivia .
2. ^ Hurlbert, Stuart H. (6 Dec 2012). Saline Lakes V: Proceedings of the Vth International Symposium on Inland Saline Lakes. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 264\. ISBN 9789401120760.
3. ^ "Los Lípez". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
4. ^ a b "Laguna Colorada". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
5. ^ The Annotated Ramsar List: Bolivia

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laguna Colorada.

* Photo of Laguna Colorada on National Geographic's website

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