El Junco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| El Junco | |
|---|---|
| Laguna El Junco (Spanish) | |
 El Junco Lagoon | |
  El Junco | |
| Location | San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands |
| Coordinates | 0°53′43″S 89°28′48″W / 0.8953°S 89.4801°W |
| Type | Volcanic crater lake |
| Primary inflows | Rainfall |
| Primary outflows | None (evaporation) |
| Max. width | 300 m (980 ft)[1] |
| Surface area | 60,000 m2 (650,000 sq ft) |
| Average depth | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Max. depth | 6 m (20 ft)[2] |
| Water volume | 360,000 m3 (13,000,000 cu ft)[2] |
| Shore length1 | 270 m (890 ft)[2] |
| Surface elevation | 700 m (2,300 ft) |
| Islands | None |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
El Junco Lagoon is a lake in the highlands of San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos Islands. Despite the name, it is a volcanic crater lake rather than a lagoon.
Flooding
El Junco inhabits a crater formed by the collapsed caldera of a volcano. Research has indicated the lake to have been extant since the end of the last ice age.[1] The name El Junco is Spanish for sedge which is endemic to the islands.
During World War II, American forces stationed at the military base on Baltra Island utilized El Junco as a primary source of water, due to it being the closest available source of freshwater.[1]
The lake is managed by the Galapagos National Park Service.
Due to the lake's lack of a permanent outflow, heavy rains can cause the lake to breach its banks. Several flood incidents, often corresponding to El Nino, have been recorded. Flooding in 1978 led to an outflow being recorded at 5,400 US gal (20,000 L; 4,500 imp gal) per hour. Similar events in 1978 and 1998 caused serious damage to the nearby Puerto Baquerizo Park.[2]
