Largest Lakes by Continent - InfopediaPk - All facts in one site Largest Lakes by Continent What is lake? Oeschinen Lake in the Swiss Alps A lake (From Latin lacus) is a large body of water larger and deeper than a pond within a body of land. Because a lake is not connected to any ocean, it is not a sea. Some lakes are very big and people in the past sometimes called them seas. Lakes do not flow, like rivers, but it is common that rivers flow into or out of them. Most lakes on the surface of the Earth are fresh water and most are in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 60% of the lakes of the world are in Canada. Finland is known as The Land of the Thousand Lakes (There are 187,888 lakes in Finland, of which 60,000 are large). Many lakes are man-made and are built to produce electricity, for recreation, to use the water in the industry, farming, or in houses. If there are not rivers flowing out of the lake (see Endorheic basin), or they are few and small, the lake loses water only by evaporation or because the water flows through the soil pores.

Where the water evaporates rapidly and the soil around the lake has a high salt level, as in very dry places, the water of the lake has a high concentration of salt and the lake is called a salt lake. Largest lakes by continent The largest lakes (surface area) by continent are: Australia \ Oceania - Lake Eyre (Salt lake) when filled; the largest permanent and freshwater lake in Oceania is Lake Taupo. Africa - Lake Victoria, also the third-largest freshwater lake on Earth. It is one of the Great Lakes of Africa. Antarctica - Lake Vostok (Subglacial) Asia - Lake Baikal (If the Caspian Sea is considered a lake, it is the largest in Eurasia, but is divided between the two geographic continents) North America - Lake Michigan-Huron, which is hydrologically a single lake. However, lakes Huron and Michigan are often considered separate lakes, in which case Lake Superior would be the largest. Europe - Lake Ladoga, followed by Lake Onega, both located in northwestern Russia. South America - Lake Titicaca, which is also the highest navigable body of water on Earth at 3,821 m above sea level.

The much larger Lake Maracaibo is considered by some to be the second-oldest lake on Earth, but since it lies at sea level and nowadays is a contiguous body of water with the sea, others consider that it has turned into a bay. Lake Eyre Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately 15 m (49 ft) (AHD) below sea level, and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia. It is the focal point of the vast Lake Eyre Basin and is found some 700 km (435 mi) north of Adelaide. The lake was named after Edward John Eyre who was the first European to sight it in 1840. It is located in the deserts of central Australia, in northern South Australia. The Eyre Basin is a large endorheic system surrounding the lakebed, the lowest part of which is filled with the characteristic salt pan caused by the seasonal expansion and subsequent evaporation of the trapped waters. Even in the dry season there is usually some water remaining in Lake Eyre, normally collecting in a number of smaller sub-lakes on the playa.

Typically a 1.5 m (5 ft) flood occurs every three years, a 4 m (13 ft) flood every decade, and a fill or near fill four times a century. The water in the lake soon evaporates with a minor and medium flood drying by the end of the following summer. Lake Victoria Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza (Also known as Ukerewe, The Eye of the Rhino, Nalubaale, Sango, or Lolwe) is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named after the United Kingdom's Queen Victoria, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to see the lake. With a surface area of 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi), Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake, and the largest tropical lake in the world, and is Earth's second largest freshwater lake - only North America's Lake Superior is larger. In terms of volume, it is the world’s eighth largest continental lake, containing 2,750 cubic kilometres (2.2 billion acre-feet) of water. The lake receives most of its water from direct precipitation.

Its largest influent is the Kagera River, the mouth of which lies on the lake's western shore. The only river to leave the lake, the White Nile (known as the "Victoria Nile" as it leaves the lake), leaves at Jinja, Uganda, on the lake’s north shore . Lake Victoria occupies a shallow depression in the East African Plateau, and has a maximum depth of 84 metres (276 ft) and an average depth of 20 metres (66 ft). Its catchment area covers 184,000 square kilometres (71,040 sq mi). The lake has a shoreline of some 4,828 kilometres (3,000 mi), with islands constituting some 3.7% of this length, and is divided between three countries: Kenya (6% or 4,100 km2/1,600 sq mi), Uganda (45% or 31,000 km2/12,000 sq mi) and Tanzania (49% or 33,700 km2/13,000 sq mi).Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery.

Lake Vostok Lake Vostok (Russian: восток, "East") is the largest of more than 140 subglacial lakes found under the surface of Antarctica. It is located beneath Russia's Vostok Station, 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) under the surface of the central Antarctic ice sheet. It is 250 km long by 50 km wide at its widest point, thus similar in size to Lake Ontario, and is divided into two deep basins by a ridge. The water over the ridge is about 200 m (650 ft) deep, compared to roughly 400 m (1,300 ft) deep in the northern basin and 800 m (2,600 ft) deep in the southern. Lake Vostok covers an area of 15,690 km² (6,058 mi²). It has an estimated volume of 5,400 km³ (1,300 cubic miles) and consists of fresh water. The average depth is 344 m.

In May 2005 an island was found in the center of the lake. Airborne ice-penetrating radar data first showed lakes beneath the Antarctic ice-sheet in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The existence of Lake Vostok was first noted in 1973 by scientists of the Scott Polar Research Institute, but not named by them. Russian and British scientists delineated the lake in 1996 by integrating a variety of data, including airborne ice-penetrating radar imaging observations and spaceborne radar altimetry. It has been confirmed that the lake contains large amounts of liquid water under the more than three-kilometer thick icecap, promising to be the most unspoiled lake on Earth. The lake water is undoubtedly very old. Initially, it was thought that the same water had made up the lake since the time of its formation, giving a residence time in the order of one million years.

Later research by Robin Bell and Michael Studinger from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University suggested that the water of the lake is continually freezing and being carried away by the motion of the Antarctic ice sheet, while being replaced by water melting from other parts of the ice sheet in these high pressure conditions. This resulted in an estimate that the entire volume of the lake is frozen and removed every 13,300 years its effective mean residence time. In comparison, the similarly sized Lake Ontario has a residence time of six years, which is typical for a lake of that size. The average water temperature is around −3 °C (27 °F); it remains liquid below the normal freezing point because of high pressure from the weight of the ice above it. Geothermal heat from the Earth's interior warms the bottom of the lake. The ice sheet itself insulates the lake from cold temperatures on the surface. Lake Baikal Lake Baikal meaning "Nature lake"is the world's second most voluminous lake, after the Caspian Sea if it consider as lake.

It is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m (2,442 ft) and contains a total of roughly 20% of the world's surface fresh water.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, near the city of Irkutsk, the body of water is also known as the "Pearl of Siberia". At 1,642 metres (5,387 ft) (Baikal central part 53°14′59″N 108°05′11″E), Lake Baikal is the deepest, and among the clearest of all lakes in the world. At more than 25 million years old, Baikal is also the world's oldest lake. Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Baikal was formed as an ancient rift valley, having the typical long crescent shape with a surface area of 31,722 km2/12,248 sq mi, less than that of Lake Superior or Lake Victoria.

Baikal is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.It is also home to Buryat tribes who reside on the eastern side of Lake Baikal,rearing goats, camels, cattle and sheep,where the regional temperature varies from a minimum of −19 °C (−2.2 °F) in winter to maximum of 14 °C (57 °F) in summer. Lake Michigan-Huron Lake Michigan-Huron is geologically the largest of the North American Great Lakes. Traditionally considered to be two separate lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, it is hydrologically a single body of water connected by the Straits of Mackinac. The straits are 5 miles (8.0 km) wide and 120 feet (37 m) deep, small in comparison to the body of water as a whole. The two sections have thus long been considered distinct lakes.

However, they lie at the same surface elevation, 577 feet (176 m), rise and fall together, and the flow of water between them at times reverses from eastward to westward. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states, "Lakes Michigan and Huron are considered to be one lake hydraulically because of their connection through the deep Straits of Mackinac."The United States Army Corps of Engineers says "Lakes Michigan and Huron are considered to be one lake, as they rise and fall together due to their union at the Straits of Mackinac." At 45,410-square-mile (117,600 km2), Lake Michigan-Huron is the largest of the Great Lakes in terms of surface area, being 48% of the total, and indeed the largest lake in the world. (It is exceeded in surface area only by the Black and Caspian Seas, which by tradition, by geology, and due to their salinity are commonly counted as seas rather than as lakes).

Lake Superior holds more water, 3,000 cubic miles (12,500 km3) compared to Michigan-Huron's 2,000 cubic miles (8,300 km3), which makes Michigan-Huron the fourth largest lake by volume in the world after lakes Baikal, Tanganyika, and Superior. During the last ice age, what is now Huron-Michigan was indeed two lakes, with what is now Lake Huron (known to geologists as Lake Stanley) separate from what is now Lake Michigan (Lake Chippewa). Before that Lake Chicago occupied the southern tip of the Lake Michigan basin, at the southern extent of the glaciers. Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,812 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. By volume of water, it is also the largest lake in South America. The origin of the name Titicaca is unknown.

It has been translated as "Rock Puma", allegedly for its resembling the shape of a puma hunting a rabbit, combining words from the local languages Quechua and Aymara, and as well as translated as "Crag of Lead." Locally, the lake goes by several names. Because the southeast quarter of the lake is separate from the main body (connected only by the Strait of Tiquina), the Bolivians call it Lago Huiñaymarca (Quechua: Wiñay Marka) and the larger part Lago Chucuito. In Peru, these smaller and larger parts are referred to as Lago Pequeño and Lago Grande, respectively. The lake is located at the northern end of the endorheic Altiplano basin high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department. The lake is composed of two nearly separate sub-basins that are connected by the Strait of Tiquina which is 800 m (2,620 ft) across at the narrowest point.

The larger sub-basin, Lago Grande (also called Lago Chucuito) has a mean depth of 135 m (443 ft) and a maximum depth of 284 m (932 ft). The smaller sub-basin, Wiñaymarka (also called Lago Pequeño, "little lake") has a mean depth of 9 m (30 ft) and a maximum depth of 40 m (131 ft).The overall average depth of the lake is 107 m (351 ft). Lake Titicaca is fed by rainfall and meltwater from glaciers on the sierras that abut the Altiplano. Five major river systems feed into Lake Titicaca. In order of their relative flow volumes these are Ramis, Coata, Ilave, Huancané, and Suchez. More than 20 other smaller streams empty into Titicaca, and the lake has 41 islands, some of which are densely populated. The cold sources and winds over the lake give it an average surface temperature of 10 to 14 °C (50 to 57 °F).

In the winter (June-September), mixing occurs with the deeper waters, which are always between 10 to 11 °C (50 to 52 °F). Some Other Notable Lakes The longest lake is Lake Tanganyika, with a length of about 660 km (measured along the lake's center line). The world's highest lake is the crater lake of Ojos del Salado, at 6,390 metres (20,965 ft). The highest large freshwater lake in the world is Lake Manasarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region of China The largest lake located on an island is Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island, with an area of 5542 km² and a maximum length of 123 km. Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra is located in what is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. The largest lake located completely within the boundaries of a single city is Lake Wanapitei in the city of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Before the current city boundaries came into effect in 2001, this status was held by Lake Ramsey, also in Sudbury.

Lake Enriquillo in Dominican Republic is the only saltwater lake in the world inhabited by crocodiles. Create a free website Lake Titicaca | lake, South America | Britannica.com Lake Titicaca Puno Lake Titicaca, Spanish Lago Titicaca, the world’s highest lake navigable to large vessels, lying at 12,500 feet (3,810 metres) above sea level in the Andes Mountains of South America , astride the border between Peru to the west and Bolivia to the east. Titicaca is the second largest lake of South America (after Maracaibo). It covers some 3,200 square miles (8,300 square km) and extends in a northwest-to-southeast direction for a distance of 120 miles (190 km). It is 50 miles (80 km) across at its widest point. A narrow strait, Tiquina, separates the lake into two bodies of water.

The smaller, in the southeast, is called Lake Huiñaymarca in Bolivia and Lake Pequeño in Peru; the larger, in the northwest, is called Lake Chucuito in Bolivia and Lake Grande in Peru. An Aymara Indian poling a reed boat on Lake Titicaca, near the Bolivian shore. The Cordillera Real … © Tony Morrison/South American Pictures Lake Titicaca. © Index Open The meaning of the name Titicaca is uncertain, but it has been variously translated as Rock of the Puma or Crag of Lead. Titicaca lies between Andean ranges in a vast basin (about 22,400 square miles [58,000 square km] in area) that comprises most of the Altiplano (High Plateau) of the central Andes. In the snow-covered Cordillera Real on the northeastern (Bolivian) shore of the lake, some of the highest peaks in the Andes rise to heights of more than 21,000 feet (6,400 metres).

The lake averages between 460 and 600 feet (140 and 180 metres) in depth, but the bottom tilts sharply toward the Bolivian shore, reaching its greatest recorded depth of 920 feet (280 metres) off Isla Soto in the lake’s northeast corner. More than 25 rivers empty their waters into Titicaca; the largest, the Ramis, draining about two-fifths of the entire Titicaca Basin, enters the northwestern corner of the lake. One small river , the Desaguadero , drains the lake at its southern end. This single outlet empties only 5 percent of the lake’s excess water; the rest is lost by evaporation under the fierce sun and strong winds of the dry Altiplano. Similar Topics Lake Todos los Santos Titicaca’s level fluctuates seasonally and over a cycle of years. During the rainy season (summer, from December to March) the level of the lake rises, normally to recede during the dry winter months. It was formerly believed that Titicaca was slowly drying up, but modern studies have seemed to refute this, indicating a more or less regular cycle of rise and fall.

Titicaca’s waters are limpid and only slightly brackish, with salinity ranging from 5.2 to 5.5 parts per 1,000. Surface temperatures average 56 °F (14 °C); from a thermocline at 66 feet (20 m) temperatures drop to 52 °F (11 °C) at the bottom. Analyses show measurable quantities of sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, calcium sulfate, and magnesium sulfate in the water. Lake Titicaca’s fish life consists principally of two species of killifish ( Orestias)—a small fish, usually striped or barred with black—and a catfish (Trichomycterus). In 1939, and subsequently, trout were introduced into Titicaca. A large frog ( Telmatobius), which may reach a length of nearly a foot, inhabits the shallower regions of the lake. Forty-one islands, some of them densely populated, rise from Titicaca’s waters. The largest, Titicaca Island (Spanish: Isla de Titicaca, also called Isla del Sol ), lies just off the tip of the Copacabana Peninsula in Bolivia.

Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. Jeremy Woodhouse—Digital Vision/Getty Images Ruins on the lake’s bottom (where the remains of a temple were discovered in 2000), on its shore, and on the islands attest to the previous existence of one of the oldest civilizations known in the Americas. The chief site is at Tiwanaku , Bolivia, at the southern end of the lake. On Titicaca Island ruins of a temple mark the spot where, according to the tradition of the Incas (a Quechuan people of Peru who established an empire about 1100 ce), the legendary founders of the Inca dynasty , Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, were sent down to Earth by the Sun. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent The Aymara people living in the Titicaca Basin still practice their ancient methods of agriculture on stepped terraces that predate Inca times. They grow barley, quinoa (a type of pigweed that produces a small grain), and the potato , which originated on the Altiplano.

The highest cultivated plot in the world was found near Titicaca—a field of barley growing at a height of 15,420 feet (4,700 metres) above sea level. At this elevation the grain never ripens, but the stalks furnish forage for llamas and alpacas, the American relatives of the camel that serve the Indians as beasts of burden and provide meat and wool. The lake plain is covered with vast numbers of pre-Columbian raised platform fields and ditches, now abandoned, which were constructed to improve drainage and enhance the region’s agricultural potential. This ancient system of reclamation has been revived in some areas in both Peru and Bolivia. Puno, Titicaca lake: travel to Bolivia and Peru Altitude 3,827 meters (12,500 feet) a.s.l. Population 91,877 inhabitants in the city Puno, on the banks of Lake Titicaca - the world highest navigable lake - displays the reminiscences of its origin through cave paintings and spearheads, testimony of our highland ancestor's life.

The Collao Plateau Is the geographical space, where ancient and Important cultures like Pucara and, later, Tiahuanaco, appeared.This is the region where, according to the legend, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo emerged from the sacred Lake Titicaca to found the Inca Empire. During colonial times, the Spaniards established In Puno attracted by its mineral richness, bringing new cultural, social and economic Patterns along. The city of San Carlos de Puno was founded in 1668 and the priests, eager to convert the natives, motivated them to build beautiful churches. LAKE TITICACA Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake and the center of a region where thousands of subsistence farmers eke out a living fishing in its icy waters, growing potatoes in the rocky land at its edge or herding llama and alpaca at altitudes that leave Europeans and North Americans gasping for air. It is also where traces of the rich Indian past still stubbornly cling, resisting in past centuries the Spanish conquistadors' aggressive campaign to erase Inca and preInca cultures and, in recent times, the lure of modernization.

When Peruvians talk of turquoise blue Titacaca, they proudly note that it is so large it has waves. This, the most sacred body of water in the Inca empire and now the natural separation between Peru and Bolivia, has a surface area exceeding 8,000 square kilometers (3,100 square miles), not counting its more than 30 islands. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge map At 3,856 meters (12,725 feet) above sea level it has two climates: chilly and rainy or chilly and dry. In the evenings it becomes quite cold, dropping below freezing from June through August. In the day, the sun is intense and sunburn is common. According to legend, this lake gave birth to the Inca civilization. Before the Incas, the lake and its islands were holy for the Aymarï¿½ Indians, whose civilization was centered at the Tiahuanaco, now a complex of ruins on the Bolivian side of Titicaca but once a revered temple site with notably advanced irrigation techniques. Geologically, Titicaca's origins are disputed, although it was likely a glacial lake.

Maverick scientists claim it had a volcanic start; a century ago, Titicaca was popularly believed to be an immense mountaintop crater. A few diehards today stick to the notion that the lake was part of a massive river system from the Pacific Ocean. Indian legend says the sun god had his children, Manco Capac and his sisterconsort Mama OcIlo, spring from the frigid waters of the lake to found Cuzco and the beginning of the Inca dynasty. Later, during the Spanish Conquest, the lake allegedly became a secret depository for the empire's gold. Among the items supposedly buried on the lake's bottom is Inca Huascar's gold chain weighing 2,000 kilos (4,400 lbs.) and stored in Koricancha - the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco - until loyal Indians threw it into the lake to prevent it from falling into Spanish hands. Oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau spent eight weeks using mini submarines to explore the depths of the lake but found no gold.

(What he did discover, to the amazement of the scientific world, was a 60-centimeter (24-in) long, tri-colored frog that apparently never surfaces!) Urban base: On the Peruvian side of the lake is Puno, an unattractive commercial center settled as a Spanish community in 1668 by the Count of Lemos. Although today Puno seems unappealing, during the Spanish period it was one of the continent's richest cities because of its proximity to the Laykakota silver mines discovered by brothers Gaspar and Jose Salcedo in 1657. The mining boom drew 10,000 people to an area not far from what is now Puno. It also brought a bloody rivalry that ended only when the ironhanded count traveled to Puno, ordered Jose Salcedo executed and transferred Laykakota's residents to Puno. At an altitude of 3,827 meters (12,628 feet), Puno is still the capital Peru's altiplano - the harsh highland region much better suited to roaming vicuï¿½as and alpacas than to people.

It is also Peru's folklore center with a rich array of handicrafts, costumes, holidays, legends and, most importantly, more than 300 ethnic dances. Among the latter, the most famous is Devil dance performed during the feast of the Virgin of Candelaria during the first two weeks in February. Dancers fiercely compete to outdo one another in this Diablada, notable for its profusion of costly and grotesque masks. The origins of the dance have become confused over the centuries but it is believed to have started with pre-Inca Indian cultures, surviving through the Inca conquest and the Spanish takeover of the country, with the costumes being modified each time. Dance and wild costumes: As numerous as the dances themselves are the lavish and colorful outfits the dancers wear. They range from multi-hued polleras (layered skirts) donned by barefoot female dancers to the short skirts, fringed shawls and bowler hats used in the highland version of the marinera dance. For centuries the Indians in the altiplano were accustomed to working hard, then celebrating their special days with gusto.

In fact, many of the dances incorporate features of the most repressive times for the Indians with dancers dressed as mine overseers or cruel landowners characters that are mocked during the festivities. It is difficult to find a month in Puno without at least one elaborate festival, which is always accompanied by music and dance. Within Puno , there remain a handful of buildings worth seeing. The cathedral is a magnificent stone structure dating back to 1757 with a weather-beaten baroque-style exterior and a surprisingly spartan interior- except for its center altar of carved marble, which is plated in silver. Over a side-altar to the right side of the church is the icon of The Lord of Agony, commonly known as El Seï¿½or de la Bala. Beside the cathedral is the famous Balcony of the Count of Lernos found on an old house on the comers of Deustua and Conde de Lemos streets.

It is said that Peru's Viceroy Don Pedro Antonio Fernandez de Castro Andrade y Portugal - the count -stayed here when he first arrived in the city he later named "San Carlos de Puno." On the Plaza de Armas is the library and the municipal pinacoteca, or art gallery and half a block off the plaza is the Museo Carlos Dreyer, a collection of Nazca, Tiahuanaco, Paracas, Chimï¿½ and Inca artifacts bequeathed to the city upon the death of their owner, for whom the museum is named. One of the museums most valuable pieces is an Aymarï¿½ arybalo, the delicate pointed-bottomed pottery whose wide belly curves up to a narrow neck. Throughout the South American continent, the arybalo stands as a symbol 0 the Andean culture. Views of the Sierra: Three blocks uphill from the plaza is Huajsapata Park, actually a hill that figures in the lyrics of local songs and an excellent spot for a panoramic view of Puno. Huajsapata is topped by a huge white statue of Manco Capac gazing down at the lake from which he sprang.

Another lookout point is found beside Parque Pino at the city Is north side in the plaza four blocks up Calle Lima from the Plaza de Armas. Also called Parque San Juan, it boasts the Arco Deustua, a monument honoring the patriots killed in the battles of Junin and Ayacucho, the decisive battles in the Independence War with Spain. The "San Juan" moniker for the park comes from the San Juan Bautista Church within its limits; at its main altar is a statue of the patron saint of Puno, the Virgin of Candelaria. Also in the park is the Colegio Nacional de San Carlos, a grade school founded by a decree signed by Venezuelan liberation leader Simon Bolivar in 1825. It was later converted into a university, then subsequently used as a military barracks. Two blocks down F. Arbulu Street from Parque Pino is the city market, a colorful collection of people, goods and food.

Tourists should keep their eyes on their money and cameras while here, but it is worth a stop to see the wide collection of products - especially the amazing variety of potatoes, ranging from the hard, freeze-dried papa seca that looks like gravel to the purple potatoes and yellow and orange speckled olluco tubers. Woolen goods, colorful blankets and ponchos are on sale here, along with miniature reed boats like those that ply Lake Titicaca. Among the more intriguing trinkets are the Ekekos, the ceramic statues of stout jolly men laden with a indefinite number of good luck charms, ranging from fake money to little bags of coca leaves. Believers say the Ekekos smoke and they are often found with lit cigarettes hanging from their mouths. Those who really believe in the power of these jolly statues claim that they only bring luck if they are received as gifts - not purchased. Exploring the Lake: Puno is the stepping-off point for exploring Titicaca with its amazing array of islands, Indian inhabitants and colorful traditions.

Small motorboats can be hired for lake trips or for catching the 13kg (30lb) lake trout that make it one of Peru's best-known fishing destinations. Most of the transportation is either by motorized launches or the totora reed boats that Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl studied in preparing for his legendary 4,300-nautical mile (7,970-km) journey from Peru to Polynesia in the reed boat Kon-Tiki in the 1940s. Floating islands: The best-known of the islands dotting Titicaca's surface are the Uros, floating islands of reed named after the Indians who inhabited them. Legend has it the Uro Indians had black blood that helped them survive the frigid nights on the water and safeguarded them from drowning. The last full-blooded Uro was a woman who died in 1959. Other Uros had left the group of islands in earlier years owing to a drought that worsened their poverty - and intermarried with Aymarï¿½ and Quechua-speaking Indians. But the Indians who now inhabit this island - a mix of Uro, Aymara and Inca descendants - follow the Uro ways.

The Uros' poverty has prompted more and more of them to move to Puno. That same poverty has caused those who remain to take a hard-sell approach to tourists and, besides pressing visitors to buy their handicrafts, they frequently demand "tips" for having their photographs taken. Some tourists suggest that bartering with fresh fruit is better than money exchanges. However, there is continued criticism that tourism has not only opened the Uros Islands to the stares of insensitive tourists but has destroyed much of the culture as the Indians modified their handicrafts to appeal to outsiders or abandoned traditional practices to dedicate more time to the influx of outsiders. The Uros islanders fish, hunt birds and live off lake plants, with ... 7 --- the - important element in their life being elake reeds they use for their houses, boats and even as the base of their five islands - the largest of which are Toranipata, Huaca Huacani and Santa Maria. The bottoms of the reed islands decay in the water and are replaced from the top with new layers, making a spongy surface that is a bit difficult to walk on. Even the walls of the schools on the bigger islands are made of totora.

The soft roots of the reed are eaten, making it a pretty handy thing to have around. Another island that lures tourists is Taquile, the home of skilled weavers and a spot where travelers can buy wellmade woolen and alpaca goods as well as colorful garments whose patterns and designs bear hidden messages about the wearer's social standing or marital status. The residents of this island run their own tourism operations in the hope that visits of outsiders will not destroy their delicate culture. There are no hotels on Taquile but the islanders generously open their homes to tourists interested in an overnight stay. Handicrafts also play an important role in life on Amantani, a lovely and peaceful island even further away from Puno than Taquile. Amantani was once part of the Inca empire, as attested to by local ruins, before the Spanish invaded and slaughtered the islanders. The Spaniard who was granted a concession to the island used the Indians in forced labor and his descendants were still in control after Peru's independence from Spain. But eventually an island fiesta turned violent and the Indians attacked their landlord with hoes and consequently split up the island into communally-held fields.

Amantani has opened its doors to outsiders who are willing to live for a few days as the Aymarï¿½-speaking islanders do -and that means sleeping on beds made of long hard reeds and eating potatoes for every meal. There is no running water or electricity and nighttime temperatures drop to freezing even in the summer. But those happy to rough it catch a glimpse of an Andean agricultural community that has maintained the same traditions for centuries. Some Amantanï¿½ residents live and die without ever leaving the island. Journeys to Amantanï¿½ begin at the Puno docks aboard sputtering wooden motorboats operated by the islanders. At the end of the four-hour trip, visitors are registered as guests and assigned to a host family. The family, usually led by a shy patriarch, shows the way to its mud-brick home set around an open courtyard decorated with white pebbles spelling out the family's name. Prepared visitors usually bring gifts of fruit -a rarity on the isolated island and the socializing begins when a family member who speaks English offers a guided walk around the island, from where the views are something spectacular.

Women wearing traditional black and white lace dresses pass by with Islingshots in their hands to kill scavenging birds. Another island, Esteves is connected to Puno by a bridge and is best known for Turistas Isla Esteves This luxury hotel is a far cry from what used to be the main construction on the island - a prison that accommodated the patriots captured by the Spanish during Peru's war for independence. James Orton, a naturalist and explorer who died crossing Titicaca on a steamship in 1877, is buried on Isla Esteves; his memorial sits beside one honoring the liberation fighters who perished in the war with Spain. Orton, a natural history professor from Vassar University, was on his third expedition to explore the Beni river in the Amazon area. The Beni's link to the Mamore river both crucial conduits during the jungle's rubber boom - was named the Orton river in his honor. Mysterious burial chambers: Some 35 km (21 miles) from Puno is Sillustani , with its circular burial towers or chullpas overlooking Lake Umayo.

The age of the funeral towers, which are up to 12 meters (40 feet) high, remains a puzzle. A Spanish chronicle-keeper described them as "recently finished" in 1549, although some still appear as if they were never completed and the Indians that built them were conquered by the Incas about a century earlier. The chullpas apparently were used as burial chambers for nobles of the Colla civilization; these were Indians who spoke Aymara, had architecture considered more complicated than that of the Incas and who buried their nobility with their entire family. Not far away is Chucuito , a village that sits upon what was once an Inca settlement and which boasts an Inca sundial. Stop by the Santo Domingo Church with its small museum in this altiplano village; also worth visiting is La Asuncion Church. Juli, once the capital of the lake area, has four beautiful colonial churches under reconstruction. Although it now appears a little odd to see so many large churches so close together, at the time the Spanish ordered them built they hoped to covert huge masses of Indians to Roman Catholicism.

In addition, the Spanish were accustomed to having one church for the Europeans, one for the mixed-raced Christians and yet another for the Indians. The largest of Juli's churches is San Juan Bautista with its colonial paintings tracing the life of its patron, Saint John the Baptist. From the courtyard of La Asuncion Church visitors have a captivating view of the lake. The other churches in the city are San Pedro, once the city's principal place of worship and the church in which a choir of 400 Indians used to sing each Sunday, and Santa Cruz, which is just beside the city's old cemetery. Santa Cruz was originally a Jesuit church upon the front of which Indian stonemasons carved a huge sun - the Inca god - along with more traditional Christian symbols. It is from Juli that the Transturin catamarans leave across the lake for Copacabana, Bolivia. (Information is available from the Transturin office in Puno, Av. Girï¿½n Tacna 201. Tel: 737).

Pilgrimage site: Copacabana can also be reached by taking a minibus rid around the side of the lake, passing the reeds waving in the wind, shy but curi ous children at the bends in the road and always the brilliant blue of Titicaca or the roadway that ends the lake. This pleasant trip involves a short ferry trip at the Strait of Tiquina and the destination is a pleasant one. Copacabana is a friendly little town accus tomed to tourists and has a number o modest but clean restaurants and hotels It is most famous for its cathedral containing a 16th-century carved wood figure of the Virgin of Copacabana, the Christian guardian of the lake. The statue, finished in 1853, was the work of Indian sculptor Francisco Tito Yupanqui, nephew of Inca Huayna Capac. Except for during Mass, the statue stands with its back to the congregation - but facing the lake so it can keep an eye out for any approaching storms and earthquakes. One of the loveliest outings in Copacabana is a dawn or dusk walk along the waterfront, watching the sky explode into color with sunrise or slip into the blue black of night at sunset.

It is also possible to reach Bolivia by crossing around the other side of the lake via Desaguadero, but this border town is one of the continent's filthiest and there is no acceptable lodging there in the event buses on the Bolivian side are not running (a common eventuality owing to holidays, strikes or sometimes lack of demand). From Copacabana, launches can be hired to visit the Bolivian islands which are also on Lake Titicaca - the Island of the Sun and the Island of the Moon. The Island of the Sun (also accessible via a public ferry) has a sacred Inca rock at one end and the ruins of Pilko Caima with a portal dedicated to the sun god at the other. The Island of the Moon, which is also sometimes called Coati, has ruins of an Inca temple and a cloister for Chosen Women.

Contact us for a Personalized and Comfortable itinerary to Peru You also can write us at: travel@machupicchu.info Packages start at USD$1,399 for our 6-Day Cusco/Machu Picchu package with domestic flights included Name: Lake Titicaca - UNESCO World Heritage Centre Lake Titicaca Coordinates: S14 07 - 17 08 W68 02 - 71 06 Ref.: 5080 Word File Disclaimer The Secretariat of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Heritage Centre do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information or documentation provided by the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to the Secretariat of UNESCO or to the World Heritage Centre. The publication of any such advice, opinion, statement or other information documentation on the World Heritage Centre’s website and/or on working documents also does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of UNESCO or of the World Heritage Centre concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its boundaries.

Property names are listed in the language in which they have been submitted by the State Party Description Lake Titicaca is the largest freshwater lake in South America and the highest of the world's large lakes. Titicaca is one of less than twenty ancient lakes on earth, and is thought to be there million years old. Lake Titicaca sits 3 810 m above sea level and is situated between Peru to the west and Bolivia to the east. Peruvian part is located in Puno department, in Puno and Huancane provinces. It covers 3 200 square miles (8 300 square km) and extends in a northwest-to-southeast direction for a distance of 120 miles (190 km). It is 50 miles (80 km) across at its widest point. A narrow strait, Tiquina, separates the lake into two bodies of water. The smaller, in the southeast, is called Lake Huinaymarca in Bolivia and lake Pequeño in Peru.

Lake Titicaca lies between Andean ranges in a vast basin (about 22 400 square miles - 58 000 square km in area) that comprises most of the Altiplano (High Plateau) of the northern Andes. In the snow-covered Cordillera Real on the north-eastern (Bolivian) shore of the lake, some of the highest peaks in the Andes rise to heights of more than 21 000 feet (6 400m). Titicaca's level fluctuates seasonally and over a cycle of years. During the rainy season (summer, from December to March) the level of the lake rises, normally to recede during the dry winter months. The average level is 3.810msnm +- 2.5m. Titicaca's waters are limpid and only slightly brackish, with salinity ranging from 5.2 to 5.5 parts per 1 000.

Surface temperatures average 56°F (14°C); from a thermo cline at 66 feet (20 m) temperatures drop to 52°F(11°C) at the bottom. Analyses show measurable quantities of sodium chloride, sodium sulphate, calcium sulphate, and magnesium sulphate in the water. The lake averages between 460 and 600 feet (140 and 180 m) in depth, but the bottom tilts sharply toward the Bolivian shore, reaching its greatest recorded depth of 920 feet (280 m) off Isla Soto in the lake's northeast corner. More that 25 rivers empty their waters into Titicaca; the largest, the Ramis, draining about two-fifths of the entire Titicaca Basin, enters the north-western corner of the lake. One small river, the Desaguadero, drains the lake at its southern end. This single outlet empties only 5 percent of the lake's excess water; the rest is lost by evaporation under the fierce sun and strong winds of the dry Altiplano.

There is evidence off the continuous presence of human population in the lake's area: the monumental remains and both tangible an intangible elements talk about different settings, the land-use and its management through specific and outstanding cultural manifestations. This evidence shows the constant relation between man and nature since ancient days and during a long period of time that goes from the birth and development of Andean pre-Hispanic societies until our days. This long process that began approximately around 10 000 b.c. to 8 000 b.c. and lasted until the first third of the sixteen century with the arrival of the Incas was characterized by different and successive Andean societies and ethnic groups. The other period comprises from Colonial times in the sixteenth century up to our days. All this process has defined a cultural area where tradition has been preserved showing the permanence of ways of life, of customs and ancestral values.

Archeological architectonic building of great singularity in some sites as Pukara, Sillustani, Cutimbo (Peruvian side) and Tiwanaku and the Isla del Sol (Bolivian side) are clear evidence of the existence of societies such as Pukara, Tiwanaku, Colla Lupaka and Inca. The agricultural techniques of pre-Hispanic origin such as the so called waru-waruor or ridges of furrows, the amazing terraces that are to be found in different islands of the lake and the totora reed "floating islands" in the middle of the lake are expressions of remarkable value and evidence of land-use and environmental management. Languages, customs, beliefs and artistic works that remain until our days are evidence of ways of life and of cultural values of exceptional value that characterized the Uru inhabitants of the lake and the Taquilenos from Taquile Island, who are organized in a very strong community and whose textile art is one of the fundamental expressions that has been influenced by the textile art of the ancient Paracas, Nazca, Wari and above all, the Collas, a group of people from the pre-Hispanic Peruvian Andean highland.

Languages, traditions, beliefs and customs are intermingled in different forms of social organization, cycles of social life, feasts and rituals, music and dances and in the preservation of sacred places, being the lake the most sacred one, since from its waters emerged the founders of the Inca civilization and the Empire. Statements of authenticity and/or integrity There are important researches and studies as sources of information for accessing the authenticity of the values attributed to Lake Titicaca. Also under Peruvian legislation, part of Lake Titicaca is included in the National System of Protected Areas (SINANPE) as a national reserve (IUCN VI category). In addition, in 1997, all Lake Titicaca was a wetland of international importance. This category gives to Lake Titicaca a special protection and conservation responsibilities under Ramsar Convention. Comparison with other similar properties There are few examples of wetlands of international importance declared as World Heritage sites.

There are only four lakes that are World Heritage sites: Willandra lakes Region (Australia) Inscribed 1981, boundaries revised 1995 Criteria C (iii) N (i) The fossil remains of a series of lakes and sand formations that date from the Pleistocene can be found in this region, together with archaeological evidence of human occupation dating from 45-60 000 years ago. It is a unique landmark in the study of human evolution on the Australian continent. Several well-preserved fossils of giant marsupials have also been found here. Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia) Inscribed 1979, 2000 Criteria N (ii)(iii) The waters which have flowed across the limestone and chalk have, over thousands of years, deposited travertine barriers, creating natural dams which in turn have created a series of beautiful lakes, caves and waterfalls. These geological processes continue today. The forests of the park are a refuge for bears, wolves, and many rare bird species.

Lake Baikal (Russian Federation) Inscribed 1996 Criteria N (i)(ii)(iii)(iv) Situated in south-east Siberia in the Russian Federation, the 3.15 million ha. Lake Baikal in the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1 637 m) of the world's lakes. It contains 20% of the world's surface unfrozen freshwater reserve. Known as the "Galapagos of Russia", its age and isolation have produced one of the world's richest and most unusual freshwater faunas which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science. With its outstanding variety of endemic animals and plants Lake Baikal is one of the most biologically diverse lakes on earth. Venice and its Lagoon (Italy) Inscribed 1987 Criteria (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi) Founded in the 5th century and spread over 118 small island, Venice became a major maritime power on the 10th century, The whole city is an extraordinary architectural masterpiece in which even the smallest building contains works by someone on the world's greatest artists such as Giorgione, Titan, Tintoretto, Veronese and others.

But there are not other examples as Lake Titicaca, its cultural and natural properties are different than the other four World Heritage sites. None of them is an associative cultural landscape considered a holly place by an ancient culture that also protects a wetland of great diversity. Inventory of Conflict and Environment (ICE), Template 1. Abstract The people inhabiting the highly arid zones of South America, such as the Altiplano, have always had to struggle for fresh water. Climate change has the potential toexacerbate this issue. Both Bolivia and Peru are located in zones of water stress and share the resources. Their impoverished populations depend largely on the rivers and lakes fed by glacial melt. The two countries divide Lake Titicaca and its resources evenly through negotiations, benefitting from it both agriculturally and economically. However, while glacial melt will replenish the rising loss of water due to evaporation, the disappearance of Lake Titicaca's surrounding glaciers will leave Bolivia and Peru in a dangerous situation. Fig. 1 Source: WWAP United Nations World Water Development Report 2003 Fig. 2 Source: M.

Bush, Global Change Biology Journal 2010 Lake Titicaca is part of a 4 lake basin network known as the TDPS system. It is comprised of the lakes Titicaca, Desaguadero, Poopo and Coipasa salt lake. It is known as the highest navigable lake in the world and is the second largest lake in South America. It is between 3810 meters high above sea level. Its basin has an area of 56300 kilometers squared. (WWAP 466) Lake Titicaca is home to many endangered flora and fauna, and is home to the world’s largest and also critically enangered frog, the telmatobius culeus , or the Titicaca water frog. The lake serves as a source of fresh water for both citizens of Bolivia and Peru. The lake is surrounded by the indigenous populations of the Aymara and the Urus. Lake Titicaca’s freshwater ecosystem is incredibly vulnerable to pollution. The Aymara and Urus practice traditional lifestyles and depend on the lake for survival (WWAP 147). The lake is situated in the harsh region of the Altiplano.

Impoverished communities surround the borders of the lake. Farming and survival in this region is largely dependent on the Lake Titicaca and its resources. The lake's water levels are typically replenished each year from glacial melt. The lake loses much of its water to evaporation due to being at such a high altitude. In fact, the lake loses 90% of its output each year and as a result, the lake depends on yearly and monthly fluctuations of evaporation. (Delclaux et al. 1664) Climate change is exacerbating the amount of evaporation, and this combined with glacial melt could prove disastrous for the joint water governance that Peru and Bolivia have so carefully established. Once the surrounding glaciers have disappeared, Lake Titicaca will have lost a vital part of its yearly recovery. Without the replenishment, the surrounding impoverished communities will overdraft the lake and the water table in an effort to maintain their lifestyles. This will inevitably lead to conflict between the two nations. Scientific Evidence Water level changes of the Lake Titicaca basin have been well documented as a result of both compiled data and paleoclimatic reconstructions.

Francois Delclaux states in his text Evaporation estimation on Lake Titicaca: a synthesis review and modeling that sedimentary core analysis has shown that water levels have fallen by about 100m with respect to the present level between 9000 and 6500 years BP. Evaporation accounts for 90 percent of the lake’s water loss, with 10 percent lost to the Rio Desaguadero (Delclaux 1664). Lake evaporation is usually relatively constant with two maxima and two minima per year. Evaporation estimates vary, ranging from 1350 millimeters per year to 1900 millimeters per year but is averaged at 1500 millimeters per year. This number is extremely high for a lake found in a region with low temperatures. The evaporation levels are a result of air dryness which induces a high vapor pressure deficit. The evaporation is increased by the unusually warm surface temperature of the lake itself.

Scientist Jean Pierre Carmouze of the Bolivian branch of the IRD, a French research organization, has proven that were the water temperature the same as the air, evaporation would decrease (Delclaux 1675). However, climate change has begun to affect the TDPS system. High levels of solar radiation have already proven to evaporate larger amounts of water in the TDPS system. Climate change is increasing the amount of solar radiation and heat within the region. This has led to glacial melt and drought, both of which provide consequences for the Lake Titicaca and the people who depend on it. The Lake Titicaca Authority have been monitoring this change and have found that 95 percent of the lake is evaporating per year and this is rising and combined with the melting of the surrounding glaciers and increasing drought, Lake Titicaca is in danger of losing its mechanisms for replenishment. Felix Trujillo chief of Bolivia's National Meteorological and Hydrological Service, is quoted saying that one of the reasons is that the region’s rainy season has been reduced from six to three months (Valdez). Water rationing and other mechanisms have been put in place to conserve water in many nearby Bolivian cities.

Climatologist Mark Bush of FIT and a team of researchers studied 370,000 years of Lake Titicaca’s previous climate and showed through their research the possible consequences of climate change. Figure 2 explains part of their findings and shows that Lake Titicaca shrank by as much as 85 percent during two of its interglacial periods and in each case, warming climate led to a migration of vegetation, similar to what is occurring today (Bush 3227-3228). Warmer temperatures cause vegetation to move further upslope. As evaporation increases and the lake’s water levels begin to fall, the lake becomes more saline. Mark Bush’s research can be accessed here . Political Governance Lake Titicaca is divided evenly between Bolivia and Peru and is mutually governed by both nations under the Autoridad Binacional Autonoma del Systema Hidrico (TDPS) or the Binational Autonomous Authority of Lake Titicaca (ALT). Both countries have an 'exclusive and indivisible joint ownership' over its waters (WWAP). They follow a joint ownership model as a means to ensure management.

The Ministry of Sustainability and Development in Bolivia and the Peruvian Development Institute also play a large role in governing the lake. There are two projects situated in each country which fall under and depend on the ALT that coordinate the two national governments and centralize information. The two nations share the lake and its resources evenly as is shown in the table below. Water supply and sanitation coverage in the TDPS system 20% source: UNESCO The Binational Autonomous Authority of Lake Titicaca (ALT) was created in May 1996 and operates between both countries. Its function is to decide, implement and enforce regulations on management of the lake, control and protect the TDPS’s water system and also conduct research, projects and programs. Each country has its own department. Bolivia operates under the Unidad Operativa Boliviana, or the Bolivian Operative Unit and Peru operates under the Proyecto Especial del Lago Titicaca or the Lake Titicaca Special Project. Each unit is responsible for coordinating their actions with their national governments. The ALT follows a master plan which is run by the Hydrological Resources Unit and the Master Plan Management Unit. These entities monitor water resources and track the development of the master plan.

(WWAP 475) Bolivia lost the Chacaltaya Glacier in as little as 20 years (fig.4). The glacier had completely melted away by 2010. Chacaltaya was once home to one of the world's highest ski runs. An increase in near surface temperature combined with increased El Niï¿½o events which are in essence factors of climate change, have been identified as the primary causes of the recent disappearance of the Chacaltaya Glacier (Francou et al.). Glaciers serve as the main water source for the population living along the Andes and have economic importance as they provide irrigation for farming in the Altiplano and in the desert Pacific coast of Peru. Figure 5 shows the glaciers of the Cordillera Real whose glacial melt help replenish Lake Titicaca's freshwater.The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme has stated that the loss of glaciers such as Chacaltaya “will translate into drought for thousands of people”. Today the glacier is now nothing more than a frigid reminder of what climate change can to do the environment. Fig.

5 Glacier distribution in the Cordillera Real Source: US Geological Survey The disappearance of the Chacaltaya glacier proved how sudden climate change destruction could occur. Lake Titicaca is losing 2-3 centimeters of water per day (Al Jazeera). Climatologist Mark Bush’s findings have predicted the tipping point for Lake Titicaca to be between 2040 and 2050. The tipping point is the point of no return; it is the moment when the lake will no longer be able to recover and will disappear. The tipping point includes a rise in temperature by 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above modern temperatures. His calculations were based on the growth limits of Andean forests and on the warming rate of the Peruvian Andes per decade. Therefore, the most serious effects of climate change on Lake Titicaca will be noted over the next 30 to forty years and the end result, the loss of the world’s highest navigable lake, will change the region forever. 4. Location Arid Region - Altiplano Lake Titicaca is one of several lakes located in the northern end of the Endoheric Altiplano.

The Altiplano is a high plateau upon which one finds an irregular climate. Lake Titicaca provides a large moderating influence on the area. The area has zones of diminishing humidity ranging from north to south with varying precipitation. Lake Titicaca is located in a relatively more humid zone, with Lake Poopo in an arid zone and Coipasa Salt Lake in the driest area. The southern, drier part of the system belongs to Bolivia. Lake Titicaca exists in a climate that is cool and dry. In the rainy season (January through March), clouds cover the sky and allow for only 6 hours of sunlight per day. The dry season has 9.6 hours of bright sunlight per day. Eighty percent of the area’s precipitation occurs during the rainy season. The area has a rainy season in the summer and is driest in the winter. Air temperature varies on the latitude and longitude and proximity to the lake. Humidity is low throughout the area and solar radiation is high with an annual yield of 533 calories per square centimeter per day. (WWAP 467) 8. Act and Harm Sites: Bolivia and Peru (The TDPS System) III.

CONFLICT ASPECTS 9. Type of Conflict: Resource Conflict This issue is a conflict focused on a struggle for resources. Lake Titicaca provides freshwater and economic support via fishing, irrigation, agriculture and tourism for both Bolivia and Peru. The loss of the lake could prove fatal for both economies and drive them to want to overcome the other in order to have what is left of the lake to themselves. 10. Level of Conflict: Medium The level of conflict is medium as the lake still exists and indigenous populations are still maintaining a traditional lifestyle. This case is primarily speculative, but evidence is clear and supportive of the claim. The indigenous communities are fighting for preservation of the lake and causing civil unrest in major cities as they voice their concerns. 11. Fatality Level of Dispute (military and civilian fatalities): Medium Life expectancy of the population around Lake Titicaca's basin is 60.6 years in Peru and 58 in Bolivia. Deaths occur largely in part to malnutrition, infectious, respiratory and gastrointestinal disease and poor water quality. These deaths will skyrocket with the loss of the Titicaca Lake. There will be increased malnutrition and water quality related diseases as well as migratory diseases.

These rural populations will seek refuge in the nearby cities and carry disease and infection into the urban centers. As conditions worsen in the rural Lake Titicaca region, urban populations will rise in both countries. (WWAP 467 - 468) Over time, the fatality level will rise however, and peak once Lake Titicaca reaches its tipping point. (Bush et al.) Nearby cities such as La Paz or El Alto could be affected by a lack of water when the lake is gone and populations will both suffer and potentially decrease. 12. Environment-Conflict Link and Dynamics: Causal Diagram Climate change has led to higher levels of solar radiation which has caused glacial melt and decreased rainfall; causing drought. This has led to water loss in the Titicaca Lake which will ultimately cause stress for the indigenous populations inhabiting the region. They will compete and struggle for resources and the final result will be violent conflict amongst the people and aggression between the two nations sharing the resource. Peru and Bolivia have a system in place for governing the shared use and protection of the lake. However, the lake is situated in an area of extreme poverty. Water stress has already led to serious rebellion in Bolivia by the Aymara and Quechua.

Extreme cases of poverty can be found on both sides of the lake, Peruvian and Bolivian. According to a joint study by UNESCO and ALT, there are high mortality rates around the lake, mainly in children, high incidence of infection and disease, deficiency in nutrition and poor health. A lack of water would exacerbate these problems and cause a struggle for resources and give rise to rebellion. Without water, farmers cannot irrigate their crops and many would lose their livelihoods. The people would then turn to the governments for aid and cause political instability. Political instability and indigenous conflict would converge and create violent conflict between the two nations in an attempt to seize what little they have left. It is important that we study what is happening and help both nations come up with a plan to address the different scenarios that could happen or may already be happening. 13. Level of Strategic Interest: High This is a vital resource for both countries. While the relationship between them may currently be amicable, the amount of their population which depends on the lake and the amount of their economic success which depends on the lake (Bolivia especially, as it has no access to oceanic trade) will inevitably lead to conflict. 14.

Outcome of Dispute: In Progress / Ongoing As stated previously, Lake Titicaca is showing signs of decline via increased evaporation and encroaching vegetation. However, the lake has not yet reached its tipping point. Once the lake begins to show drastic signs of shrinkage, the surrounding indigenous population will panic and rebellion will ensue. Recently, thousands of Aymara gathered in the Peruvian city of Puno and initated a complete standstill in the country's main roads demanding they be heard. The indigenous people wished to see the end of a local mining project as well as the cancellation of any exploratory activity in the entire region of Puno, due to the effects it was having on their water supply and due to conflicts with communal lands. (Zecenarro) The ethnic groups inhabiting the TDPS system are many. They are emotional, dedicated and a determined people. They have a history of standing up for what they believe in, even if it means sacrificing their own lives. This recent uprising in Puno lasted nearly two months and six deaths have been associated with the pollution caused by the mining. No deaths have been recorded involving the uprising. This is only a taste of what could occur in the Titicaca region.

Fear and survival will push the Aymara and the Urus of the Titicaca Lake to march into Bolivia and Peru and demand the lake be saved or they be compensated for the loss. Climate change will harm not only the ecosystem of the area, but the health of the people and the strength of the governments of Bolivia and Peru. It is imperative that both goverments work on solutions and mitigation strategies, but climate change is happening faster than solutions can be put in place. It is up to the international community to aid in the protection of this region's most precious resource before it is too late. Bo, Teresa. Lake Titicaca evaporating away. Al Jazeera, 2009. Youtube. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. < Bush, M.B., J.A. Hanselman, and W.D. Gosling. "Nonlinear climate change and Andean feedbacks: an imminent turning point?" Global Change Biology 16.12 (2010): 3223–3232. Print. Delclaux, Francois, Anne Coudrain, and Thomas Condom.

"Evaporation estimation on Lake Titicaca: a synthesis review and modelling." Hydrological Processes 21.13 (2007): 1664–1677. Print. Francou, Bernard, et al. "Tropical climate change recorded by a glacier in the central Andes during the last decades of the twentieth century: Chacaltaya, Bolivia, 16." Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (2003): n. pag. Print. United Nations. World Water Assessment Programme. World Water Development Report 1. Vol. 1. Barcelona: UNESCO , 2003. Print. Valdez, Carlos. "Lake Titicaca shrinking an inch each week." MSNBC. MSN, 13 Nov. 2009. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. < us_news-environment/#.TujqcdRSR2A Zecenarro, Carlos. "Social Conflicts in Puno: The Twilight of the Mining in Peru?" Latin America Bureau. Oxfam, 18 July 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.

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Question: Lake Titicaca is on which continent?
Answer: South America