| Lake Chungará | |
|---|---|
| Lake and Parinacota Volcano | |
| Location | Arica and Parinacota Region, Chile |
| Primary inflows | Chungará, Sopocalane |
| Basin countries | Chile |
| Surface area | 21.5 km² |
| Max. depth | 33 m |
| Surface elevation | 4517 m |
Chungará is a lake situated in the extreme north of Chile, in the Altiplano of Arica and Parinacota Region. It is the 29th highest lake in the world (and the 10th highest in South America)[1]. It is near the volcanos Parinacota (20,827 feet or 6,348 metres) and Pomerape (20,413 feet or 6,222 metres)[2]. It was formed 8000 years ago, when a major collapse of the edifice of Parinacota produced an avalanche of 6km³ of debris which blocked drainage pattern, thus creating the lake.
The situation of this lake is not very stable due to environmental issues nowadays, especially concerning potable water supply to dense population. See the state on August 9, 2008, by this link: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/570624077WBPqhi?vhost=outdoors