Image: Lake Atitlan, Volcan Tolimán and Volcan Atitlán

Description: Lake Atitlán, Volcan Toliman (f) and Volcan Atitlán (b), from Panajachel Lake Atitlán is a lake in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, in the Sololá Department of northern Guatemala. "At the water" is the meaning of "Atitlan". It is a fusion of simple Nahuatl words that belies the complexity of the entity it identifies. The lake basin is volcanic in origin, filling an enormous caldera formed in an eruption 84,000 years ago. It is technically an endorheic lake (lacking direct flow to an ocean) but substantial seepage feeds two nearby rivers. Atitlan is recognized to be the deepest lake in Central America, with maximum depth about 340 metres. It is approximately 12 x 5 km, with around 20 cubic km of water. The lake is shaped by deep escarpments which surround it and by three volcanoes on its southern flank. Lake Atitlan is further characterized by towns and villages of the Maya people. Volcán Tolimán is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the southern shores of Lago de Atitlán. The volcano has an elevation of 3,158 m. The top of the volcano has a shallow crater and its flanks are covered with the thick remains of ancient lavas flows that emerged from vents in the volcano's flanks. A parasitic lava dome, known as Cerro de Oro, was formed on the volcano's northern flank, which may have erupted a few thousand years ago. Volcán Atitlán (3,535 m) is a large, conical, active stratovolcano adjacent to the caldera of Lake Atitlán in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas range. It is within the Sololá Department, northern Guatemala. Volcán Atitlán is few miles south of Volcán Tolimán, which rises from the southern shore of Lake Atitlán. The volcano has been quite active historically, with more than a dozen eruptions recorded between 1469 and 1853, the date of its most recent eruption. Atitlán is part of the Central American Volcanic Arc. The arc is a chain of volcanoes stretching along Central America formed by subduction of the Cocos Plate underneath the Caribbean Plate. These volcanoes are part of the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean. (source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Atitl%C3%A1n, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volc%C3%A1n_Tolim%C3%A1n, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volc%C3%A1n_Atitl%C3%A1n)
Title: Lake Atitlan, Volcan Tolimán and Volcan Atitlán
Credit: Lake Atitlan, Volcan Toliman and Volcan Atitlán
Author: Arian Zwegers from Brussels, Belgium
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes