Lake Nicaragua

Lake Nicaragua is the largest freshwater body of water in Latin America. It is located in the state of the same name, in the southwestern part of the country, almost on the border with Costa Rica. Lake Nicaragua is unique in that there are no bodies of fresh water in the whole of Latin America. In addition, it is home to animals that are not seen in other freshwater bodies. The maximum depth of the lake is 70 meters, and the entire area is 8600 square meters. The surface of Lake Nicaragua is 32 meters above sea level and borders Costa Rica.

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Highlights

Lake Nicaragua is connected to the Caribbean Sea by the navigable San Juan River. Fresh water is supplied by numerous rivers and streams, among which the Tipitapa River, flowing from Lake Managua, is the fullest.

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At one time, when planning to connect the waters of the two oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific, there were projects to build a canal across this lake. However, these ideas sometimes pop up nowadays. The only question is the sources of funding.

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Lake Nicaragua, according to scientists, formed on the territory of the ancient gulf of the Pacific Ocean. Over time, the depression in which the bay was located lost its connection to the ocean, and the lake was formed in its place. However, the lake’s past oceanic connections have remained alive in its waters and are often reminded of themselves. We are talking about the unique fish that live in the waters of the lake – the famous sharks of Lake Nicaragua. Sharks are not found in any freshwater lake on the planet, at least not as permanent residents. But in Lake Nicaragua, they have been living and thriving for many millennia.

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Sharks of Lake Nicaragua

About the sharks of Nicaragua learned only in 1877, and for a long time could not determine what kind of sharks they belong to. Later scientists came to the conclusion that the sharks of Nicaragua – gray bull sharks. Bull sharks – a small family of sharks, which belongs to only eight species, but sharks of this family can be found in absolutely different parts of the world. The inhabitants of the shores of Nicaragua themselves claim that the lake is inhabited by not one, but two species of sharks – white-bellied visitante and red-bellied tintoreros. Only visitante unlike tintoreros comes from the ocean, so it is smaller and more mobile. What else is different between these two types of sharks, despite the eloquent names none of the locals can say. However, they are afraid of them equally strong.

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Sharks of Lake Nicaragua have quite typical for their species appearance. Dense head with small eyes, rounded mouth. The lower surface of the body is white and the upper surface is gray. The teeth of the front jaw are smaller and sharper, while the back teeth are larger and stronger. Although members of the bull shark family usually lay eggs, the sharks of Lake Nicaragua are viviparous.

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Their length is also very atypical for their family. Lake Nicaragua sharks are quite large and can reach up to four meters in length, but individuals of two, two and a half meters are more common. Why these fish can live in fresh water is still unknown.

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One American physiologist hypothesized that this ability is affected by the presence of urea in sharks’ blood. In humans, this would cause uremia – protein poisoning in the body. However, the physiologist could not prove his theory. Nor did it explain why some sharks are so eager to freshwater bodies.

There are so many sharks in Lake Nicaragua that there is commercial fishing for the fish in the body of water. Fishermen claim to catch as many as seven thousand individuals a year. Shark attacks on the lake are far from rare, so the state has set a reward for their extermination. At least one person dies each year in Lake Nicaragua as a result of a shark attack. But the number of attacks is far from limited to one per year.

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Many victims lose limbs and suffer multiple injuries, while others do not survive this unequal fight at all. In the middle of the last century, a shark attacked three people at once, with two of them dying. Lake Nicaragua sharks are so dangerous because, unlike sharks in the ocean, they come very close to the shore. Among the reported attacks, the vast majority have occurred in shallow water.

Even though some sharks live in the lake their entire lives, many individuals do get there from the ocean. Scientists have long wondered: What draws them to Nicaragua? While the luminaries of science puzzle over it, the Indians living on the shores of the reservoir have long had an answer to this question. There is a legend that in the past, in order to propitiate sharks, they used to lower the bodies of dead tribesmen into the water, richly decorating them. The bodies were carried out into the ocean and there they became prey for marine predators. Since then, sharks have been swimming farther down the river into the reservoir to take their next prey.

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Other inhabitants of the lake

Visitors to Lake Nicaragua are not only surprised by the presence of sharks. Some other, exclusively marine inhabitants are also found here. These are sawfish and even swordfish. For fans of sport fishing organized special services, where for a low fee you will provide you with gear and everything you need for fishing.

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In general, the fish of the mountain lakes of Central America, predominantly carnivorous, i.e. predators. This is not surprising – there is little aquatic vegetation and plant food. Also in Lake Nicaragua live flathead catfish (catfish microgranus, steelhead pimelodus Flea, sorbium paddlefish), common catfish, fish of the perch family of cichlovyh.

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Along the shores of the lake are numerous large (up to 60 cm) lizards helmet-nosed basilisk, capable of running on their hind legs even on the surface of the water. There are also numerous tiger ambystomes, representatives of the amphibian order, resembling salamanders.

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It is noteworthy that 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. These include lemon and diamondback cichlasomes, some species of catfish, and other small fish.

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The islands of Lake Nicaragua are home to 76 species of parrots and toucans.

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Islands

The area around the lake is by no means deserted; there are about three hundred small and large islands in its waters, of which only a few are inhabited.

The largest of the islands is Lake Nicaragua.

The largest of the islands is Ometepe (translated from Indian – “two mountains”), which is home to two volcanoes, Maderas and Concepcien. The island has preserved monuments of ancient civilization of the pre-Columbian era – petroglyphs on the rocks depicting animals and birds, and stone idols marking the sites of former Indian burials. Among the Indians, the island has long been considered sacred because of the volcano located on it.

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Currently, Ometepe is home to a biosphere reserve (since 2010) that is home to rare species of animals, including spider monkeys.

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The largest city on the coast is Granada, the third largest city in the country (Managua and Leon take the first two places). It is one of the oldest cities in Latin America, founded by Europeans (date of foundation – 1524). Today Granada is a major center of tourism.

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Another large Nicaraguan city is San Carlos, located at the mouth of the river of the same name on the border with the state of Costa Rica. The municipality of San Carlos includes the island of Solentiname, which is a nature reserve due to its rich fauna.

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Ancient petroglyphs – drawings on rocks depicting parrots, monkeys and humans – have been discovered on the Solentiname Islands. The country’s authorities have designated the Solentiname Islands as a Nicaraguan National Natural Monument.

The climate on the islands is tropical, characterized by high humidity. The average temperature is 28-30 degrees Celsius. The water level in the lake depends on rainfall: from December to April is a dry season, but from May to October begins the season of tropical rains, which raise the water level in the lake.

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Population

The people living on the shores of the lake are mostly mestizos, descendants of ancient Indians. Their principal occupation is the cultivation of bananas, coffee, avocados, and cocoa. Plantations are located where the soil is fertilized with fertile volcanic ash, which, combined with the humid, favorable climate of those places, allows for huge harvests. The traditional crafts of the people include wood carving and rod weaving.

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What to do in the islands?

Lake Nicaragua and its surrounding islands mainly attract lovers of outdoor activities such as sport fishing and surfing.

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Beach recreation is not very popular there: the sands on the islands are gray, of volcanic origin, with small shells. And swimming on the islands is not the most pleasant because of the neighborhood with sharks.

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Recently, due to the increasing incidence of attacks of marine predators on people and animals, the authorities of Nicaragua allowed fishing for these sharks. So now the inhabitants of the islands offer tourists and such a type of recreation, as shark hunting.

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There is on the islands and its own small fishing fleet, allowing to serve numerous tourists – fans of sport fishing and surfing. Here for a small fee tourists are provided with all the necessary equipment for this purpose.

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Interesting facts

  • The island of Ometepe has been favored by pirates since the 16th century, who took refuge there from the Spanish authorities, and because of this the local population was forced to move higher to the slopes of the volcanoes.
  • The Nicaraguan shark can reach a length of 4 meters, the average shark is 2-2.5 meters long.
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  • At one time there were plans to build the Nicaraguan Canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but these plans have remained on paper for now.
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