Lake Enriquillo

Where is Lake Enriquillo?

Countries on its shores: the Dominican Republic.

Largest lake of: the Dominican Republic.

Middle of the lake: 18.50° N, 71.58° W

The story behind it

Long ago, Lake Enriquillo was an arm of the sea between two mountain ranges, the Sierra de Neiba and the Sierra de Baoruco. You can still see old stony corals along its shores. Today it is the largest lake in the Dominican Republic and in the whole Caribbean. Its water can be as salty as the sea, or even three times saltier. The lake is named after Enriquillo, a chief of the Taíno people. Rhinoceros iguanas and Ricord's iguanas live around the lake, and it is home to the biggest group of American crocodiles in the Caribbean. Flamingos wade in the water. The size of the lake changes a lot. In 2004 it covered only 164 km², but by 2009 it had doubled, and the water flooded farmland. Two small islands disappeared under the water. Only Isla Cabritos is left, and it is part of a national park.

Find it on the globe

Lake Enriquillo 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.