Lake Nicaragua
Location	Nicaragua
Coordinates	11°37′N 85°21′W
Primary outflows	San Juan River
Basin countries	Nicaragua
Surface area	8,264 km²
Max. In Hydrology, the discharge or outflow of a River is the volume of Water transported by it in a certain amount of time The San Juan River ( Spanish: Río San Juan is a 19206 Km (119 A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here areas between 1000 km2 and 10000 km2 depth	26 m
Surface elevation	32 m
Islands	400+ Ometepe, Zapatera, Solentiname

Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (Spanish: Lago de Nicaragua, Lago Cocibolca, Mar Dulce, Gran Lago, Gran Lago Dulce, or Lago de Granada) is a vast freshwater lake in Nicaragua of tectonic origin. Ometepe is an island formed by two Volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. Zapatera is a Shield volcano located in the southern part of Nicaragua. The Solentiname Islands (solεntiˈname are an Archipelago towards the southern end of Lake Nicaragua (also known as Lake Cocibolca in the Nicaraguan department Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as Ponds lakes rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved Salts and other Total dissolved A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the Nicaragua (ˌnɪkəˈrɑgwə officially the Republic of Nicaragua () is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America With an area of 8 264 km², it is the largest lake in Central America, the 21st largest lake in the world (by area) and only slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here areas between 1000 km2 and 10000 km2 Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of Lakes with a surface area of more than 4000 km² listed by area Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. With an elevation of 32 m (105 ft) above sea level, the lake reaches a depth of 26 m (84 ft). It is intermittently joined by the Tipitapa River to Lake Managua. Lake Managua (also known as Lake Xolotlán) (located at) is a Lake in Nicaragua.

The lake is connected to the Caribbean Sea by the San Juan River, historically making the lakeside city of Granada, Nicaragua an Atlantic port although it is closer to the Pacific. For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere The San Juan River ( Spanish: Río San Juan is a 19206 Km (119 Granada, with an estimated population of 110326 (2003 is Nicaragua 's fourth most populous city and capital of the Granada Department. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The lake has a history of Caribbean pirates which assaulted nearby Granada on three occasions. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering Granada, with an estimated population of 110326 (2003 is Nicaragua 's fourth most populous city and capital of the Granada Department. ^[1]. Despite draining into the Caribbean Sea, the Pacific Ocean is near enough to be seen from the mountains of Ometepe (an island in the lake). Ometepe is an island formed by two Volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua.

Before construction of the Panama Canal, a stagecoach line owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt's Accessory Transit Company connected the lake with the Pacific across the low hills of the narrow Isthmus of Rivas. Cornelius Vanderbilt ( May 27 1794 &ndash January 4 1877) also known by the Sobriquets The Commodore or The Accessory Transit Company was a company set up by Cornelius Vanderbilt and others during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s to transport would-be prospectors Plans were made to take advantage of this route to build an interoceanic canal, the Nicaragua Canal, but the Panama Canal was built instead. The Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal is a proposed waterway that would connect the Caribbean Sea, and therefore the Atlantic Ocean, with the Pacific Ocean The Panama Canal is a man-made Canal in Panama which joins the In order to quell competition with the Panama Canal, the U.S. secured all rights to a canal along this route in the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty of 1916. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Bryan-Chamorro Treaty was signed on August 5, 1914 under the approval of the Taft administration Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year However, the idea of another canal in Nicaragua still periodically resurfaces. Ecocanal is one of these projects. Ecocanal is a proposed low-draft waterway to connect Lake Nicaragua to the Caribbean Sea using the San Juan River.

Lake ecology

Lake Nicaragua, despite being a freshwater lake, has swordfish, tarpon, and sharks. Swordfish ( Xiphias gladius) are large highly migratory Predatory Fish characterized by a long flat bill. The tarpons are large coastal Fish prized by anglers. They grow up to 8 feet in length and sometimes weigh 200 pounds Sharks ( Superorder Selachimorpha) are a type of Fish with a full cartilaginous Skeleton and a highly streamlined body Initially, scientists thought the sharks in the lake belonged to an endemic species, the Lake Nicaragua Shark (Carcharhinus nicaraguensis). Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere In 1961, following comparisons of specimens, the Lake Nicaragua Shark was synonymized with the widespread Bull shark (C. In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as the bull whaler, Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua leucas),^[2] a species also known for entering freshwater elsewhere around the world. ^[3] It had been presumed that the sharks were trapped within the lake, but this was found to be mistake in the late 1960s, when it was discovered that they were able to jump along the rapids of the San Juan River (which connects Lake Nicaragua and the Caribbean Sea), almost like salmon. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The San Juan River ( Spanish: Río San Juan is a 19206 Km (119 For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere Salmon is the common name for several species of Fish of the family Salmonidae. ^[4] As evidence of these movements, bull sharks tagged inside the lake have later been caught in the open ocean (and vice versa), with some taking as little as 7-11 days to complete the journey. Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom is in the pelagic zone. S T U V Tragedy of the commons --> ^[2] Numerous other fishes live in the lake, including at least 16 species of endemic cichlids. Cichlids (ˈsɪklɪd are Fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. ^[5] A non-native cichlid, a Tilapia, is used widely in aquaculture within the lake. Tilapia (təˌlɑpiə is the common name for nearly a hundred Species of Cichlid Fishes from the Tilapiine cichlid tribe Aquaculture is the farming of freshwater and saltwater organisms including Molluscs Crustaceans and aquatic plants Owing to the large amount of waste they produce, and the risk of introducing diseases to which the native fishes have no resistance, they potentially are a serious threat to the lake's ecosystem. A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly An immune system is a collection of mechanisms within an Organism that protects against Disease by identifying and killing Pathogens and Tumor An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( ^[6]

Nicaraguans call the Lake Lago Cocibolca or Mar Dulce (literally, Sweet Sea; in Spanish, freshwater is agua dulce). The lake has sizeable waves driven by the easterly winds blowing west to the Pacific Ocean and can be sporadic and choppy. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The lake holds Ometepe and Zapatera which are both volcanic islands, as well as the archipelago of the Solentiname Islands. Ometepe is an island formed by two Volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. Zapatera is a Shield volcano located in the southern part of Nicaragua. An archipelago (ɑrkəˈpɛləgoʊ is a chain or cluster of Islands The word archipelago literally means "chief Sea " from Italian The Solentiname Islands (solεntiˈname are an Archipelago towards the southern end of Lake Nicaragua (also known as Lake Cocibolca in the Nicaraguan department The lake has a reputation for periodically having powerful, unnavigable storms.

In the past 37 years, considerable concern has been expressed about the ecological condition of Lake Nicaragua. In 1981 the Nicaraguan Institute of Natural Resources and the Environment (IRENA) conducted an environmental assessment study and found that half of the water sources sampled were seriously polluted by sewage. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA is in charge of Environmental protection and of the study planning and management of the Nicaragua Sewage is the mainly liquid Waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water Feces, Urine, laundry waste and other It was found that 32 tons (70,000 pounds) of raw sewage was being released into Lake Nicaragua daily. Industry located along the lake's shore had been dumping effluent for an extended period of time. Pennwalt Chemical Corporation was found to be the worst polluter. Nicaragua's economic situation has hampered the building of treatment facilities nationwide (see: Water supply and sanitation in Nicaragua). Access Service quality Water supply in 47% of localities monitored by the regulatory agency (46 out of 96 systems is not continuous

Notes

References

• LakeNet Profile

External links

• JPL NASA: Perspective View with Landsat Overlay, Lakes Managua and Nicaragua