Image: Coatepeque Lake

Description: One of the natural treasures of El Salvador is the Coatepeque Lake or “Hill of the Serpent" in the Nahuatl language. Located in the largest volcanic crater in the country identified as the American Tom Thumb. This caldera volcano exploded violently around 25 thousand years ago and covered the territory of the region with a layer of ashes. As a legacy of the fumes and ashes was the bed where the lake formed. The basin of the lake covers 40.6 square kilometers, with a maximum depth of 80 meters and is located 18 miles south of the city of Santa Ana. The site is distinguished by two small peninsulas called “The “Spectacles” because of its similarity in size, shape, and distance between them, and Hill Island. The lake has experienced reduced inflow due to recent low rainfall as a result of extreme deforestation. The drilling of deep wells in the banks of the lake, high levels of evaporation, wind, and the constant public removal of water are among the threats that hang over this natural wonder. A study conducted by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in 2004 revealed that the flow into the lake had dropped by 12 meters and it has continued to drop significantly. Although technically, the area is state property, 80 percent of the shores of the lake is private. This includes all beaches and inlets. Coatepeque Lake’s fame includes many historical events: The location for the rowing competitions of the XIX Central American & Caribbean Games in 2002. Two years later, the lake made headlines when the remains of aviation entrepreneur and leader of the Air Taca, Federico Bloch, who was killed, under suspicious circumstances, on the road to Santa Tecla to Nuevo Cuscatlán, La Libertad were dispersed in its waters. Popular legend has it that, his family owns a beautiful mansion, located on the shores of the lake. That he went for a ride on a canoe around the island and was swept away to he goddess of fresh water domains by the undertow. This attracted him, transformed into a sea creature endowed with certain powers and since then, “the Tabudo,” as it is known, appears as a humble fisherman and he likes people, he transforms them into large goldfish or sirens.
Title: Coatepeque Lake
Credit: Own work
Author: Tanmpy
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
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