Lake · Spain
Gallocanta Lake
Gallocanta Lake is a shallow salt lake on a high plain in Aragon, Spain, almost 1 000 metres above the sea. Every winter, tens of thousands of cranes rest on its shores.
Picture credit: Manuel Muñoz Farriols (CC BY-SA 4.0) · L. Vadillo - MaLéPhotoSpain (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Gallocanta Lake?
Countries on its shores: Spain.
Largest lake of: Spain.
Middle of the lake: 40.97° N, 1.49° W
The story behind it
Gallocanta Lake lies in a wide basin between the Spanish provinces of Zaragoza and Teruel, surrounded by six small villages. No river flows out of it. Its water comes mostly from rain, so its size changes a lot from year to year. When it is full, it is about 7 km long and covers about 14 km², but it is only about 2 metres deep at its deepest point. Its water is very salty. In dry times, white crusts of salt form on its beaches, and in the drought of 1969 the lake dried up completely. Gallocanta is called the largest natural lake on the Iberian Peninsula, so it is also the largest natural lake in Spain. Tens of thousands of common cranes stop here in winter, and more than 220 kinds of birds have been counted around the lake, among them vultures, eagles and coots.
Find it on the globe
Gallocanta Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is Gallocanta Lake?
When it is full, Gallocanta Lake covers about 14 km² and is about 7 km long. Its size changes a lot with the rain, so sources give different figures – some up to about 19 km².
Can Gallocanta Lake dry out?
Yes. In the drought of 1969 the lake dried up completely and left a crust of salt behind.
Which birds can you see at Gallocanta Lake?
In winter, tens of thousands of common cranes rest at the lake. Altogether more than 220 kinds of birds have been counted here, including vultures, eagles and coots.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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