Lake Nicaragua is located in the Central American state of the same name, in the southwestern part of the country, almost on the border with Costa Rica.
This is the largest freshwater body of Latin America: its area exceeds 8,600 square meters. km, and the maximum depth is almost 70 meters. The surface of the lake is 32 meters above sea level. Lake Nicaragua is connected to the Caribbean Sea by the navigable San Juan River. Fresh water enters it from many rivers and streams. The deepest of them is Tipitipa, which flows from Lake Managua.
There are more than three hundred small and large islands in the lake’s waters, the largest of which is Omatepe Island with an area of 276 sq. km. On about. Omatepe has two impressive volcanoes - Maderas and Concepcien, overgrown with lush tropical vegetation.
Lake Nicaragua acquired its uniqueness not even because of its size, but because of the inhabitants who live there. Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world where sharks are found. Due to this fact and due to the short distance to the Pacific Ocean, scientists believe that the area where the lake is now located was once a large sea bay. Over time, the passage to the sea was closed, and a lake was formed in which sharks still live. Sharks are not found in any freshwater lake on the planet, at least as permanent inhabitants. This species of shark belongs to the gray shark family, being a related species to the gray bull shark. There is not even a consensus among zoological scientists whether to consider the Lake Nicaragua shark an independent species, Carcharhinus nicaraguensis, or whether this species is completely identical to the blunt-nosed shark Carcharhinus leucas. It is known that the bull shark easily tolerates desalination of water, so it often enters river mouths, sometimes rising many kilometers inland. Individuals of the Nicaraguan shark reach a length of 2-2.5 meters and belong to species that pose a potential danger to humans, although there are no official statistics.
In addition to sharks, there are also some other, exclusively marine inhabitants - sawfish and swordfish. Therefore, the lake will be of interest to fans of sport fishing, for whom special services are organized. In addition, some fish living in the lakes of Central America, including Lake Nicaragua, are known as beautiful and unique aquarium fish that are in great demand among aquarium enthusiasts.
Lake Nicaragua (Lago de Nicaragua) is the largest lake in Nicaragua. It is of tectonic origin, fills a tectonic depression and ultimately has an almost perfect oval shape. The shores of the lake are predominantly low-lying. Its appearance is the result of the work of a volcano: lava filled a narrow strait, separating the bay from the ocean and turning it into an inland body of water. Over time, the salt water in the newly formed lake was replaced by fresh water from the forty rivers that flow into Nicaragua.
The largest of the inflowing rivers is the Tipitapa, which flows from the nearby (heavily polluted) Lake Managua. The San Juan River flows out of the lake and flows into. This connection allows us to call the lakeside city of Granada an Atlantic port, although it is closer to the Pacific Ocean. This geographical location of Granada in the old days led to sad consequences: in the middle of the 17th century. pirates passed the river to rich Granada and besieged it three times.
Lake Nicaragua ranks first in terms of surface area among freshwater lakes in Latin America and second among all lakes in Latin America. Depending on the counting system, it ranks 19th or 20th on the list of the largest lakes in the world.
Like most large lakes, Nicaragua has its own special character. In the eastern half of the lake, protected by mountains, the waters are quite calm; on the western side, influenced by the trade winds, there is a constant strong swell. Powerful storms are not uncommon here.
Only a few islands on the lake are inhabited. The largest island, Ometepe, is formed by two volcanoes - Concepcion (1610 m) and Maderas (1394 m). The name of the island reflects the story of its origin: in the Nahuatl Indian language, “ome” means two, and “tepe” means mountain. In 2010, the territory of Ometepe Island was recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.
The third volcano, Mombacho (1344 m), is located on the western coast of the lake. The presence of volcanoes in the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua caused its clogging with ash brought by rivers from volcanic areas.
Even before the Panama Canal was built, a plan to create a Nicaraguan Canal had long been contemplated. All projects boiled down to the construction of a canal across Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River. Back in the 16th century. the Spanish king Charles V of Habsburg (1500-1558) ordered the exploration of the isthmus in Nicaragua in order to connect the two oceans, but the level of technological development at that time did not allow construction to begin, and the Spaniards themselves did not seek to invest money in large-scale projects in Latin America .
This project was repeatedly returned to later, and often the authors of new proposals were outright adventurers who collected money from gullible investors.
After the construction of the Panama Canal, interest in the Nicaraguan Canal project waned, but sometimes this idea becomes relevant again, especially in moments of international political crises.
In ancient times, Lake Nicaragua was an ocean bay, which, as a result of a volcanic eruption, turned into an inland body of water. Its waters are quite rich in fish, of marine origin. There are more than 400 islands on the lake, and some of them are inhabited.
Marine life such as sharks can be found in the fresh waters of Nicaragua.
The population on the shores of the island are mestizos, descendants of the Indians who lived here since ancient times. The main occupation of local residents is growing bananas, coffee and cocoa. A significant part of the plantations is concentrated on the islands, where the land is covered with extremely fertile volcanic ash, which, combined with a favorable climate, allows for large harvests. Nicaragua has its own lake flotilla, represented by both a small fleet and quite spacious vessels, intended, among other things, to serve numerous tourists. Lake Nicaragua is popular for surfing and sport fishing.
Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world where sharks are found. This is the most clear evidence that the territory now occupied by the lake was once a large sea bay. When the exit to the sea was blocked by lava flows, sharks remained in the lake and became accustomed to the new conditions. This shark has its own scientific name: Nicaraguan shark Carcharhinus nicaraguensis.
Until recently, the Nicaraguan shark was mistaken for the bull shark, which also lives in the lake. It subsequently turned out that the bull shark enters the lake from the Caribbean Sea, rises up the San Juan River against the current - like salmon - and ends up in Lake Nicaragua. This journey can take up to two weeks. Currently, there are so many sharks in the lake that surrounding residents are allowed to fish for them commercially.
In addition to sharks, Lake Nicaragua is home to marine life such as swordfish and tarpon, which looks like a very large herring. Although Lake Nicaragua is connected by the Tipitapa River to Lake Managua, due to the heavy pollution of the latter, sharks do not go there.
Granada is the largest city on the lake. It occupies the third largest place in the country (after the capital and Leon), is the administrative center of the department of Granada and proudly bears the title of the oldest city founded by Europeans in Central America (founded in 1524). Currently, it is also the main tourist center of the country.
Another large city on the lake, San Carlos, stands where the San Juan River flows out of Lake Nicaragua, near the border with Costa Rica. The municipality of San Carlos includes the Solentiname Islands, which have the status of a national monument of Nicaragua. There is an exceptionally rich fauna here, and on the island of La Venada there is a preserved population of deer, after which the island is named (venado means “deer” in Spanish).
The beauty of the Solentiname Islands on Lake Nicaragua attracted artists and artists, including the poet and politician Ernesto Cardenal (b. 1925), who founded an artists' commune on the island in 1966 that still exists today, as well as an art gallery.
On the neighboring island of Ometepe, archaeological monuments of pre-Columbian civilizations have been preserved - petroglyphs and stone idols - created at the latest in the 2nd millennium BC. e. In ancient times, the islands on the lake, due to their volcanic origin, were considered sacred by the Indians, which is why they were chosen as a burial place. Currently, there is a biosphere reserve here, which is home to rare species of koats - representatives of the family of spider monkeys.
general information
Location: Central America.Administrative affiliation: Republic of Nicaragua.
Origin: tectonic.
Food: mainly rain.
Largest rivers: flows into Tipitapa; flows out - San Juan.
largest island: Ometepe Island (276 km 2).
The most important ports: Granada - 83,439 people. (2013), San Carlos - 15,157 people. (2013).
Numbers
Area: 8264 km2.
catchment area: 23,844 km 2 .
Volume: 108 km 3.
Length: 177 km.
Width: 58 km.
Max Depth: 45 m.
Average depth: 13 m.
Type of mineralization: fresh.
Height above sea level: 32 m.
Number of islands: OK. 400.
Climate and weather
Tropical, trade wind.Average annual temperature: +28 - +32°С.
Average annual precipitation: 1200 mm.
Relative humidity: 70%.
Change in water level: Decreases during the dry season from December to April and increases during the rainy season from May to October.
Economy
Lake shipping.Fishing.
Agriculture: crop production (bananas, coffee, cocoa, avocado, cotton, corn).
Traditional crafts: wood carving, twig weaving.
Services: tourism (surfing, fishing), transport.
Attractions
■ City of Granada: Convento San Francisco Museum, Iglesia de Guadalupe Cathedral.■ Natural: Mombacho Volcano, San Juan River, Ometepe Island (with a biosphere reserve), Tipitapa River, Concepcion Volcano, Maderas Volcano, Solentiname Archipelago (Los Guatusos Wildlife Refuge).
■ Historical: monuments of pre-Columbian civilizations (Ometepe island).
■ Cultural: artists' commune (Solentiname Islands).
Curious facts
■ The San Juan River, which rises in Lake Nicaragua and flows into the Caribbean Sea, marks much of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.■ Ometepe Island is the largest freshwater volcanic island on earth.
■ The last time the issue of building the Nicaraguan Canal was raised was at a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Nicaragua on December 18, 2008.
■ One of the most famous Nicaraguan canal projects is called the Ecocanal.
■ Since the 16th century. pirates often landed on the island of Ometepe, choosing it as a refuge in case of persecution by the Spaniards and displacing the local population, who settled higher on the slopes of the volcanoes.
■ The islands of Lake Nicaragua are home to 76 species of parrots and toucans.
■ The Nicaraguan shark reaches a length of 2-2.5 m and is a species that poses a potential danger to humans.
■ The first option for a canal between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans included its construction through Lake Nicaragua, but lobbyists for the Panama Project cleverly used Nicaraguan postage stamps with an image of the active Momotombo volcano, smoking against the backdrop of Lake Managua. Despite the assurances of the Nicaraguan authorities, who claimed that the Momotombo volcano was located too far from the canal construction site, the Panama project was accepted. In addition, it was three times cheaper than Nicaraguan. And the Momotombo volcano inappropriately began to erupt during the construction of the Panama Canal.
■ Large lizards live along the shores of the lake - helmet-bearing basilisks (up to 60 cm long), capable of running on their hind legs even on the surface of the water.
■ Ancient petroglyphs were discovered on the Solentinam Islands - drawings on rocks depicting parrots, monkeys and people. The country's authorities have awarded the Solentiname Islands the status of a national natural monument of Nicaragua.
■ Before the construction of the Panama Canal, the San Juan River, which flows from Lake Nicaragua, was used to transport goods and people between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. For a long time, it was the shortest waterway connecting the east to west of the United States. During the California Gold Rush, the American shipping company Vanderbilt used this route to transport miners to the east coast of the United States.
■ Between 1981 and 1990, opposition groups (“contras”), whose base camps were located in Costa Rica, almost completely blocked navigation on the San Juan River, which caused significant damage to the economy of Nicaragua.
Lake Nicaragua is located on the territory of the Latin American country of the same name. It is a large freshwater lake and has a tectonic origin. Area of Lake Nicaragua is 8624 square kilometers, and is the largest in size, ranking 20th among the world's lakes. Lake Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world where sharks are found reaching a length of 3 meters. Due to the fact that the lake is located near the Pacific Ocean, scientists believe that the lake was previously located on the site of a large sea bay, which explains the presence of sharks in the lake. 
It is still not clear how sharks adapted to fresh water. Currently, shark fishing championships are regularly held on the lake, and environmentalists fear that sharks are in danger of complete extinction. Locals call the lake Lago Cocibolca or Mar Dulce, which means “sweet sea”. On Lake Nicaragua There are a number of large groups of islands, including Solentiname and Ometepe, which is popular among tourists due to the fact that it is home to two volcanoes. Periodically, strong storms occur on the lake; Nicaragua is connected by the San Juan River with, turning the city of Granada into an Atlantic port.
In the language of the Indians inhabiting these lands, Michigan means “big lake”, it is located in North America, is located in the United States and is part of the Great Lakes system of North America. Lake Michigan is located at an altitude of 177 meters above sea level. Its area is 58,000 square kilometers, its greatest depth is 281 meters. Michigan is connected to Lake Huron by the Straits of Mackinac [...]
Hello, friends!
Today I will show you amazing beauty, one of the most beautiful places for me in Nicaragua) True, true, I will show you, because we have more impressions and photographs from this place than words that could be written.
There are two places to admire today - the city of Granada on Lake Nicaragua, and Lake Apoyo with the small village of Catarina - a surprisingly atmospheric place. But, before moving on to the most delicious, I suggest you take a little walk with us around the city of Granada. Exactly “a little”, because we ourselves passed through this city in a very quick period of time, or rather, we galloped through. Our walk turned out to be very short and it took place in a horse-drawn carriage.
Granada city and lake Nicaragua
To be honest, this is just some kind of rock for me, with cities named “Granada”. The second one is already flying past me, or maybe it’s me flying past it. In Spain we never got to Granada, and we also never saw the city in Niko, although we really wanted to. But, as was said in - we know that we will come back and make up for everything, so we are not particularly upset.
In general, Granada is perhaps the most beautiful city in Nicaragua, judging by the places that we saw. Still, even a short walk is enough to understand whether you like a place or not, and compare it with what you’ve seen before. In the city we visited the central park, where we were treated to a famous Nicaraguan dish, and after lunch we took a carriage ride to Lake Nicaragua. The carriage ride took no more than 20 minutes and passed mostly along the outskirts of the city. Well, i.e. the walk was not as long as we would have liked, and it left an annoying feeling of some kind of incompleteness or something. So, unfortunately, it won’t be possible to tell more about Granada than we saw, so I’ll show you a couple of photos and, perhaps, we’ll close the topic with this city until our next visit)
Dressy horses are standard transport for curious tourists.
View of the city streets from the carriage window
"
Famous cafe in the central park of Granada. This is where you need to try Vigoron
Sometimes there are also free horses. True, they look quite sad(
Apparently some kind of local landmark. But I don't know which one)
But, unlike the city of Granada itself, we were able to clearly see and feel the atmosphere of Lake Nicaragua, on the shores of which the city is located. To be honest, we deliberately went for a walk along the lake at the expense of time to explore Granada, which is too famous. Nicaragua is one of the twenty largest lakes in the world, so you can imagine the size of the reservoir. To better see the picture, I note that Lake Baikal is in seventh or eighth place in this ranking. Different sources provide different information.
Lake Nicaragua is famous for being freshwater, but it is also home to sharks. These are special, freshwater and very dangerous sharks. I’ll say right away that we didn’t see them. No matter how we looked at the surface of the water, not a single shark showed a fin. I could, of course, complain somewhere, like a real Russian tourist, but I decided to abstain.
The lake itself definitely deserves to spend your time and money on it. At least, this was our first time on such a huge freshwater body of water.
Because We arrived in a large group and immediately rented a separate boat for an hour-long trip. We paid 350 cordobas ($13) for the boat, although the amount initially announced was 700 cordobas. The walk itself was very interesting and educational. We were not only taken around the lake between small islands, but also given a short excursion.
Already at the pier there are beautiful views.
It’s like a jungle, but somewhere in the bushes there’s someone’s tent-house)
They said that almost all the islands near Granada were bought by rich people. They use them as summer cottages. It’s just that the islands are so small that only one rich man’s house can be built on them. Those. the whole island is one villa. Some beautiful villas can be rented for the weekend. Pointing to one of them, our guide announced the price of $300-400 for the weekend. Considering that several families can stay there, the price is very reasonable.
Each island is a separate villa
They showed us the houses of the richest and most famous and, conversely, the poorer people.
Here, next door, in the bushes, people live clearly simpler)
They brought us to a small island where monkeys live. I still don’t understand how many of them there are, but literally a couple of individuals came out to feed. They were fed only from the boat, because... No one lands on the islands just like that.
They gave us a riddle involving strange plants. It was really very interesting and unusual.
In the center of the photo you can see a shoot on the tree. Looks like a long pea.
Well, then we rode like a breeze, overtaking boats full of tourists.
As a result: we can give a solid “A” to the walk along Lake Nicaragua. It was very interesting, did not take too long, and was truly unusual for us. I would still like to see sharks, and in general the price of such an excursion would not be)
The village of Catarina and Lake Apoyo (Laguna de Apoyo).
Perhaps, after this, this is the second must-see place in the country. You may disagree, but this is certainly our personal rating of Nicaragua attractions. Lake de Apoyo is indicated on signs everywhere as a lagoon, but people still call it “lago”, that is, a lake.
I won’t write much about this lake, not because there is nothing to write home about, but because it is a place where you just need to come, see and fall in love! The village itself, according to the pope, is popularly known as the “white village.” We still don’t understand why she’s white. Either dad got something mixed up, or we don’t know some details. The village is cute, small, but there is nothing to see in it at all. We didn’t notice any white houses like in Santorini, or anything else worthy of special attention.
Lake Apoyo - my love in Nicaragua)
There will be a lot of photo spam of this place, because... I just can't resist.
Here you can take a horse and take a walk around the lake
Handsome is a volcano
If you look closely, you can see how strong the wind was that day. The trees just lie there.
My boys almost got carried away)
There are special walking paths around the lake
I want to fly in a place like this)
And Yaska plays the fool and laughs loudly)
Tourists relax and enjoy the views
Our patient guide) The photo from the thirtieth time is about us)
Near the lake there is a small market for souvenirs and various local delicacies. Those. The vacation scheme is as follows: we arrived, looked at the lake, meditated for half a day and you can leave.
A must-have souvenir from Niko is a painting.
True, there are other villages near Katarina that you can explore along the way. Each of the villages is famous for some of its craft and sells mountains of necessary and not so souvenirs. We stopped by a couple of places to check it out and splurge a little. And indeed, there are more than enough souvenirs, crafts and even furniture in these villages to suit every taste and budget. I don’t remember the names of these villages, because... Dad simply asked the locals where to go, and they pointed their fingers. I would go there with a bag of money - and I would stay there for a couple of days)
Even in the poorest and most insignificant houses they make and sell something
Well, a little about the lake itself. As a local elderly man told us, the main feature of this reservoir is its depth. It turns out that Apoyo is located in the crater of an extinct volcano and no one still knows its depth. The lake made a tremendous impression on me. I came across reviews online that some people didn’t like it, while others, on the contrary, advised to see only Lake Nicaragua. This simply confirms once again that all markers have different tastes and colors.
Perhaps it's all about the viewing angle. We saw the lake exclusively from above. Framed by forests and volcanoes, it looked simply amazing. Walking along the lake along the tourist trail, I couldn’t take my eyes off this water-mountain landscape. In such places I always have a question: “Well, how? How does the Earth create such beauty?
Freedom...
And love...
I know that this place offers a lot of entertainment for tourists. There are hotels and houses for rent, and you can swim and fish there. Those. You can come here and fully relax. Personally, I would be interested in living in such a place, among many forests, surrounded by local flora and fauna. But I do not exclude that such a pastime will turn out to be quite monotonous and will quickly get boring. So, as always, we tell you everything, and you draw your own conclusions)
Lake Nicaragua is the largest in Central America. On the American continent it ranks 9th, slightly inferior in size to Lake Titicaca. In the world it ranks 19th among the largest lakes on the planet. The area of its water surface is 8264 square meters. km. The volume of water is 108 cubic meters. km. The maximum depth is 26 meters. The maximum length of the reservoir is 161 km, and the corresponding width is 71 km. It is located at an altitude of 32.7 meters above sea level. Connected by the San Juan River (length 180 km) with the Caribbean Sea. It is also connected to Lake Managua (area 1024 sq. m), located to the northwest, by the Tipitapa River.
Fauna
A notable feature of the freshwater reservoir is that it is home to Atlantic tarpon and sharks. These are marine fish that live in salt water. From time immemorial, they entered the lake along the San Juan River. In those days, it was blocked by numerous rapids, but the same sharks jumped over them like salmon and fell from the Atlantic into the lake water. The conversation here is about a type of cartilaginous fish such as the bull shark. It is common for her to spend part of her time in fresh water. An example is the Amazon River. Bull sharks travel thousands of kilometers upstream in this mighty water current.
Experts studied the movement of sharks and found that they travel from Atlantic waters to lake water in 7-10 days. In addition to cartilaginous species, 16 species of cichlids, which are endemic, live in the reservoir. In addition, there are other types of cichlids, which include tilapia. However, alien species pose a threat to the indigenous inhabitants of the local waters, as they disrupt the precise balance of the unique ecosystem.
Islands
There is a whole group of islands on Lake Nicaragua. These are Ometepe and Solentiname. Ometepe is an island with an area of 276 square meters. km. It was created by two volcanoes: Concepcion (height 1610 m) and Maderas (height 1394 m). These volcanoes erupted and formed mountains with an isthmus between them. The length of the volcanic island is 31 km, the width varies from 5 to 10 km. Agriculture and livestock farming are developed on the island. The basis is the cultivation of bananas. This piece of land is inhabited by almost 30 thousand people. In addition, there is the volcanic island of Zapatera. This is a shield volcano. People don't live on it.
As for Solentiname, it is an archipelago that includes 4 large islands and 32 small islets with rocky shores. All of them are of volcanic origin. The total area is 190 sq. km. The large islands are called: La Venada, Mancaron, Mancaroncito, San Fernando. The highest point, 257 meters above sea level, is on the island of Mancaron. The islands are covered with tropical forest. It is home to 76 species of various birds, including parrots and toucans. The water is rich in fish. 1000 people live on the islands.
Lake Nicaragua on a map of Central America
Ecology
Strong easterly winds blowing towards the Pacific Ocean are not uncommon on the reservoir. This generates not only high waves, but also powerful storms. As for ecology, Lake Nicaragua has become heavily polluted over the past 40 years. 32 tons of polluted wastewater flows into it every day. All this is due to the fact that there are many industrial enterprises on the banks of the reservoir. As for treatment facilities, they are practically never built.
Shipping
In the northwestern part of the lake is the city of Granada, which is a seaport. From the Caribbean Sea, ships enter the reservoir along the San Juan River. Currently, these waters are planned to be used for the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal, which will significantly relieve the congestion of the Panama Canal.
