Lake Cote (Spanish: Lago Cote), originally known as Lake Cóter, is a fresh water crater lake located in the northern highlands of Costa Rica. It is currently the largest natural lake in Costa Rica at 1.98-square-kilometre (0.76 sq mi). Its depth varies between 6 and 18 meters.[1][2]
| Lake Cote | |
|---|---|
  Lake Cote Location in Costa Rica | |
| Coordinates | 10°34′53″N 84°54′42″W / 10.581389°N 84.911667°W |
| Type | crater lake |
| Max. length | 1 km (0.62 mi) |
| Surface area | 1.983 km2 (0.766 sq mi) |
| Max. depth | 18 m (59 ft) |
| Surface elevation | 680 m (2,230 ft) |
Location
editLocated in Cote district, Guatuso canton, of Alajuela province, between the Arenal Volcano and Tenorio Volcano. Nearby is located the largest lake in Costa Rica, Lake Arenal, of artificial origin.[3]
Physical aspects
editIt is a crater lake of Maar type with a heart-like ovoid shape and a 1 km diameter. Average depth is of 6.30m and maximum depth is 18m at the center area.
It is the natural drainage of River Cote.
Average water temperature is around 21.9 °C and 27.9 °C.
Uses
editThe lake is used for tourism, subsistence fishing, hydropower electricity generation and as a conservation area. It is regarded as a sacred place by the local Maleku people.[3]
Cote UFO
edit
On 4 September 1971, during an aerial survey by the National Geographic Institute of Costa Rica, what looks like a UFO was photographed over Lake Cote (see photo).[4]
References
edit- ^ Haberyan, Kurt A.; Horn, Sally P.; Umaña V., Gerardo (March 2003). "Basic limnology of fifty-one lakes in Costa Rica". Revista de Biología Tropical. 51 (1): 107–122. PMID 15162686. Gale A120392501.
- ^ Umaña, Gerardo (5 July 2014). "Ten years of limnological monitoring of a modified natural lake in the tropics: Cote Lake, Costa Rica". Revista de Biología Tropical. 62 (2): 567–578. doi:10.15517/rbt.v62i2.8446. PMID 25102640.
- ^ a b Chaves, Gerardo (2 February 1997). "Cóter: Paraíso lacustre". Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Lewis-Krau, Gideon (30 April 2021). "How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously". The New Yorker. The New Yorker. Retrieved 6 June 2023.