Lake Herrera facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lake Herrera
Lake Herrera Location in Colombia
Location	Mosquera, Cundinamarca
Coordinates	4°41′26″N 74°16′29″W / 4.69056°N 74.27472°W / 4.69056; -74.27472
Type	Wetland Artificial lake (since 1973)
Part of	Bogotá savanna
Primary inflows	Bojacá River Bogotá River (San José channel)
Primary outflows	none
Basin countries	Colombia
Max. length	3 kilometres (1.9 mi)
Max. width	1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi)
Surface area	280 hectares (690 acres)
Average depth	1.3 metres (4.3 ft)
Max. depth	2 metres (6.6 ft)
Surface elevation	2,550 m (8,370 ft)

Lake Herrera is a small lake in Colombia. It is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the town of Mosquera. It is also about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of the capital city, Bogotá.

This lake is famous because of the Herrera Period. This was a time in central Colombia's history. It happened before the Muisca Period. An archaeologist named Sylvia Broadbent found old ceramics near the lake in 1971. This discovery helped name the period.

About Lake Herrera

Lake Herrera is found on the Bogotá savanna. This area is a high plateau in the Andean mountains. It is part of the Eastern Ranges. The lake is a leftover from a much larger ancient lake called Lake Humboldt.

Today, Lake Herrera is the biggest natural water area left on the Bogotá savanna. It is an important water reserve. The lake is shared by the towns of Mosquera, Madrid, and Bojacá.

Lake Herrera's History

Drymaeus nigrofasciatus, a type of land snail found near Lake Herrera El Burro, a wetland similar to Lake Herrera

In 1984, an archaeologist named Gonzalo Correal Urrego studied the area. He found an ancient site with two layers. The older layer is about 3,410 years old. The newer layer is about 3,135 years old. These dates are measured in "Before Present" (BP).

Correal Urrego found tools made of stone. He also found wooden beams that might have been used to stop the lake from overflowing. Some stone tools were scrapers and sharp chips. Other tools were handles and bone tools made from white-tailed deer. These bone tools were used for piercing, scraping, and cutting.

Archaeologists also found old fireplaces and burial sites. One burial site had a full human skeleton surrounded by five skulls. The people who lived here were hunter-gatherers. They ate mammals, birds, and snails. They also used a type of rock called basalt. This rock is not found on the plateau, which means they traveled to get it from the Magdalena Valley.

As the weather became drier, volcanic ash was deposited around the lake. This happened around 1,000 BCE. At this time, the people living there started to grow crops. This was the beginning of agriculture in the area. Later digs found red ceramics that were rich in a material called SiO₂.

Lake Herrera is a small part of the ancient Lake Humboldt. Since 1973, it has been an artificial lake. This is because drainage channels were built. The lake gets water from the Bojacá River and the San José channel. The San José channel is fed by the Bogotá River. Between 1969 and 2013, the lake's surface area got smaller by 175 hectares (430 acres).

Today, some activities near the lake could harm its environment. Because of this, Lake Herrera was officially made a water reserve on July 23, 2006. This helps protect it.

Biodiversity

The plants and animals around Lake Herrera are very important. Many types of migrating birds use the lake as a resting place. Scientists have found and described several species in and around the lake:

• thickhead ground snake (Atractus crassicaudatus)
• Cheilanthes myriophylla (a type of fern)
• Drymaeus nigrofasciatus (a land snail)
• Stenocercus trachycephalus (a lizard)

Visiting Lake Herrera

You can visit Lake Herrera and walk around it. However, some parts of the land around the lake are privately owned. If you want to access those parts, you might need to get special permission.

Trivia

• Another name for Lake Herrera and the area around it is Sabrisky Desert.

See also

In Spanish: Laguna de la Herrera para niños