Lejía Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Laguna Lejía |
|
|---|---|
Laguna Lejía with the Lascar, Aguas Calientes and Acamarachi volcanoes in the background.
|
|
 Laguna Lejía
Location in Chile
|
|
| Location | Antofagasta Region |
| Coordinates | 23°30′S 67°42′W / 23.500°S 67.700°W |
| Catchment area | 193 km2 (75 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Chile |
| Surface area | 1.9 km2 (0.73 sq mi) |
| Surface elevation | 4,325 m (14,190 ft) |
Laguna Lejía is a salt lake in northern Chile. You can find it high up in the Altiplano region, which is a large plateau. Tall volcanoes like Chiliques, Lascar, Aguas Calientes, and Acamarachi surround the lake.
It's a shallow lake with no rivers flowing out, covering about 1.9 square kilometres (0.73 sq mi) today. Long ago, during glacial times, the lake was much bigger. This was because there was more rain and less water evaporating. Today, you can spot flamingos and tiny living things called microorganisms in the lake.
Contents
Where Is Laguna Lejía?
Laguna Lejía is located in a part of Chile called the Puna de Atacama. This area is very close to the border with Argentina. The city of San Pedro de Atacama is about 103 kilometres (64 mi) northwest of the lake.
The lake is surrounded by many volcanoes. Some of these include Aguas Calientes, Lascar, Tumisa, Lejía, Chiliques, and Cordon de Puntas Negras. There are also smaller hills nearby.
The lake is a "closed basin" lake, meaning no water flows out of it to the ocean. It collects water from an area of about 193 square kilometres (75 sq mi). A lava flow from a volcano forms the southern edge of the lake. South of Laguna Lejía, you can find two other lakes: Laguna Miscanti and Laguna Miñiques.
How Does the Lake Get Water?
Laguna Lejía is a round, shallow lake located high up at 4,325 metres (14,190 ft) above sea level. Its surface area is about 1.9 square kilometres (0.73 sq mi). The lake is "polymictic," which means its waters mix often. It can also freeze over sometimes. Water leaves the lake mainly through evaporation, where it turns into vapor and goes into the air. Strong winds can sometimes create foam on the lake's surface and blow it onto the shores.
The water temperature in the lake usually ranges from 3 °C (37 °F) to 10.6 °C (51.1 °F). The lake is about 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in) deep. The water is a bit salty, and the saltiness can be different in various parts of the lake. The main salts in the water are sulfate and sodium.
The lake gets its water from several small streams. Two streams come from the north. One starts on the Aguas Calientes volcano, and the other has two branches from Lascar and Cerro del Abra. Other streams flow from Chiliques and Lejia in the south, entering the southern part of the lake. Scientists think there might also be groundwater flowing out of the lake. This would explain why a type of salt called halite doesn't build up in the lake.
The Lake's Past
Laguna Lejía sits in a natural dip in the land. This dip is connected to a system of cracks in the Earth's crust. Long ago, some thought the lake was inside a caldera, which is a large volcanic crater. Mountains called Altos de Toro Blanco separate the lake's water collection area from another nearby salt flat.
The lake has been affected by volcanic activity from the nearby Lascar volcano. In 1993, ash and volcanic rock fell into Laguna Lejía. A very large eruption from Lascar about 26,450 years ago even filled the lake with volcanic material.
During the glacial times, the lake was much larger. It covered about 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) and its water level was about 25 metres (82 ft) higher than it is today. At that time, the lake was filled with fresh water. The lake levels stayed high until a period called the Holocene (our current geological age), and then they started to drop.
These older, larger lakes left behind terraces around Laguna Lejía. These terraces have remains of ancient living structures called bioherms and stromatoliths. Scientists have even studied old sediments from Laguna Lejía. They use them to understand what ancient lakes on Mars might have been like.
The lake grew bigger because there was more rain and more clouds. More clouds meant less sunlight reached the lake, which slowed down evaporation. Studies of lake sediments show that water levels were mostly higher than they are today in the past. This was likely due to changes in weather patterns that brought more moisture to the region. Glaciers also formed in the area, but they did not reach the lake itself.
Climate Around the Lake
The area around Laguna Lejía gets about 200 millimetres per year (0.25 in/Ms) of rain each year. Most of this rain falls during the summer months. However, the amount of water that evaporates from the lake each year is much higher than the rainfall.
Temperatures in the area usually range from −6 °C (21 °F) to 7 °C (45 °F), with an average of 2 °C (36 °F). At night, temperatures can drop very low, sometimes between −18 °C (0 °F) and −25 °C (−13 °F). The weather can change a lot from day to day and year to year. During the glacial periods, the amount of rain was about double what it is today.
Animals and Plants
Laguna Lejía is home to various tiny living things. These include diatoms, which are a type of algae, and different kinds of algae and bacteria that form mats in the lake.
You can also find small crustaceans in the lake, such as Alona species and Diacyclops andinus. Tiny creatures called ostracods also live here. Scientists study their shells in the lake sediments to learn about the lake's history and how salty it was. Even chironomid flies, a type of insect, have been found at Laguna Lejía.
Flamingos and phalaropes (a type of bird) live at the lake. Scientists study high-altitude lakes like Laguna Lejía because they are similar to what water bodies on Mars might have been like long ago.
Near the water and springs along the shoreline, you can find plants like Calandrinia, Deyeuxia, Puccinellia, and Stipa species. The lake basin, at elevations below 4,500 metres (14,800 ft), has grass and shrub vegetation typical of the Puna. At higher elevations, the plants are sparser and include bunch grass, cushion plants, and rosette plants. Humans also use the area around the lake for pastures for animals.
Archeological Finds
Scientists have found old tools and other items from the Archaic period on a higher terrace of the lake. This shows that ancient hunters visited Laguna Lejía a very long time ago.
See also
In Spanish: Lago Lejía (Chile) para niños
