Melincué Lake

Laguna Melincué
Location General López Department, Santa Fe Province
Coordinates 33°42′24″S 61°29′4″W / 33.70667°S 61.48444°W / -33.70667; -61.48444Coordinates: 33°42′24″S 61°29′4″W / 33.70667°S 61.48444°W / -33.70667; -61.48444
Type endorheic lake
Basin countries Argentina
Surface area 120 km² (2003)
Surface elevation 86 m (2003)
82.5 m (1968)
Official name Melincué Lake Wetlands
Designated July 24, 2008 [1]

The Laguna Melincué is an endorheic lake located in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, in the General López Department, next to the town of Melincué, at approximately 33°42′24″S 61°29′4″W / 33.70667°S 61.48444°W / -33.70667; -61.48444. It covers a surface area of about 120 km², and its top water level lies at around 86 m above mean sea level (c. 2003).

The lake forms part of a wetland ecosystem, noted for its large population of waterfowl and other birds, which is protected as a nature reserve. In times of drought the lake's waters became saline. In 2008 an area of 920 km² has been listed as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar convention.[2]

For decades the water level of the Melincué Lake have varied considerably, often flooding parts of its basin, and over time this has seriously affected the prosperity of the nearby towns and the maintenance of roads around it. According to a study by the Faculty of Engineering of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, in 1968 the top water level stood at 82.5 m AMSL, more than 3 m below its current height. In 1998–2000 the provincial government passed legislation creating a Strategic Environmental Planning Area covering the surrounding districts (Melincué, Carreras, Hughes, Elortondo and Labordeboy) with the goal of promoting its sustainable development, but major concrete actions have failed to materialize.

References

  1. ↑ "Ramsar List". Ramsar.org. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Ramsar Database Archived 2009-09-27 at the Wayback Machine., retrieved 2009-09-28


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.