Lake Tota
Largest lake in Colombia; three islands
The Totasee (Spanish: Laguna de Tota, Lago de Tota ) is a mansion in Colombia Hochandensee. It is located at 3015 meters above sea level in the province of Boyacá. The length is 12 km, the 47 km circumference, the area of 56.2 km ², and the average depth of 58 meters. He is the largest water reservoir in Colombia. In the northern half of the lake there are three islands of San Pedro, Cerro Chiquito and Santa Helena, on the east side of the peninsula and Potrero Susacá. The directly lakeside main towns are Aquitania in the Northeast and Cuitiva in the southwest. Other nearby villages are Tota and Iza. The largest city in the area is Sogamoso, which is located 15 kilometers north of the lake. The lake is three hours away from the Colombian capital Bogota.
The temperatures in the vicinity of the lake are highly volatile and are in the range between 0 ° C and 22 ° C.
Culture and Tourism
The formerly endemic vegetation on the lake gave way, with potatoes and onions are cultivated pasture and arable land. The forest areas were largely replaced by pine and eucalyptus plantations. The beauty of the landscapes in the area and the crystal clear waters make the lake to one of the main tourist attractions of Colombia. At Playa Blanca in the south of the lake camping is possible, otherwise lure several hotels around the lake the tourists. Other activities include boat trips, water sports and fishing. A landmark in the town of Aquitania is the cathedral. The region around the Totasee was once considered one of the most important religious centers of the Muisca culture.
1970 described the Colombian writer Lilia Montaña de Silva Célis in her work Mitos, leyendas, Tradiciones y folclor del Lago de Tota the culture of living on the lake population.
Flora and Fauna
In the surroundings of the lake are three Espeletia species, subshrubs of the Aster family, before. These are E. jaramilloi, E. and E. tunjana oswaldiana. Three endemic Tiertaxa, the Andean Grebe (Podiceps andinus ), the Schmerlenwelsart Rhizosomichthys totae and the northern sharp-tailed duck ( Anas georgica niceforoi ) are from the 1970s or the 1950s was no longer detected and considered as possibly extinct.
More occurring on Totasee Tiertaxa are Ixobrychus exilis bogotensis ( subspecies of the American bittern ), Oxyura jamaicensis andina ( subspecies of ruddy duck ), the Bogota Rail (Rallus semiplumbeus ) and the Apolinarzaunkönig ( Cistothorus apolinari )
In Totasee several fish species were exposed, including rainbow trout, brown trout and goldfish. The import of these and other species of fish in the lake led to a disruption of the natural balance and the disappearance of several formerly in Totasee native fish species.