Lake Arenal

The Arenal Lake is an artificial lake in Costa Rica and with its area of 80 km ², the largest lake in the country. It lies at the foot of the Arenal Volcano and near the Monteverde Cloud Forest. The lake was artificially impounded in the 1970s, the dam is located near the entrance to the National Park of the volcano. The energy gained by the impoundment covers almost 60 % of the country's electrical energy demand. In addition to the zones adjacent to the lake mountains wind turbines were installed because high wind speeds occur due to the size of the lake. For the same reason the Arenal Lake is world renowned as a surfing area also attracts many anglers to the lake.

Local wildlife species

In the shallow water, a wide variety of water birds can be observed, such as Stripes heron, snowy egret, yellow Jacana, Great Blue Heron, Green fishermen and the swallow consecration.