What is the Largest Lake in Central America
Central America is generally regarded as the region between North America and South America. It is considered to be a subcontinent, rather than being a part of either continent. There are seven countries in this region called; Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Belize. Central America covers about 534,000 km2 (202,000 sq mi), which is just 0.1% of the Earth’s surface! Despite this fact, Central America is home to the 19th largest lake in the world (by area). Let’s find out the name of this lake and where it is located.
What is the largest lake in Central America?
The largest lake in Central America is Lake Nicaragua (Spanish: Lago de Nicaragua), also known as Cocibolca or Granada. Lake Nicaragua has a total surface area of 8,264 km2 (3,191 sq mi). The lake is not overly deep with a maximum depth of 26 m (85 ft). It drains from west to east into the Caribbean Sea via the San Juan River.
As the name suggests, Lake Nicaragua is located entirely within the country of Nicaragua. This lake is located in the southwest of the country close to the border with Costa Rica.
Did you know?
Nicaragua is also home to Lake Managua, which is the second largest lake in Central America. Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua are sometimes connected via the Tipitapa River. Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, lies on the southwestern shore of Lake Managua.
Plans were once may to made a canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. However, the Panama canal was built instead and plans for the Nicaragua were put on hold. There have been attempts to get support for the Nicaragua canal since this time, but none have been successful.
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