Lake Chichancanab

About

Lake Chichancanab from Yucatec Maya "Little Sea" is a lake in Mexico located in the northwest of the state of Quintana Roo, in the municipality of José María Morelos. It is also known as Laguna Chichancanab, Laguna Chicnancanab and Laguna de Chichancanab. It has an approximate length of 30 kilometers from near the settlement of La Presumida to that of Kantemó, in the same municipality. It is the largest lake on the Yucatan Peninsula. The lake has a clay lake bed which seals the water off from the bedrock. The water level is therefore determined by the balance between rainfall and evaporation. The lakes waters are saline, with high concentrations of dissolved minerals. When the area undergoes drought for a sufficiently long period, gypsum precipitates and concentrates in the mud on the lake bed. In the last five thousand years, this deposit of gypsum has occurred at just one period which coincided with the start of the decline of the classical Mayan civilisation. On 2 February 2004, Lake Chichancanab was declared as Ramsar site (ref. No. 1364), protecting an area of 1,999 hectares (4, 940 acres). The site provides is utilised by at least 97 species of migratory birds. It is also inhabited by a diverse number of species of birds, mammals and reptiles which are protected under Mexican law, as well as being on the IUCN Red List. An unusual feature of the lake is that it contains an

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.