Lake Itiribisi

Where is Lake Itiribisi?

Countries on its shores: Guyana.

Largest body of water of: Guyana.

Middle of the lake: 7.07° N, 58.55° W

The story behind it

Guyana has no untouched natural lake as big as this one. Lake Itiribisi got its size in 1982 and 1983, when a dam was built to hold back water for the rice fields. Before that, parts of today's lake were grassland with a creek running through it. Now the lake splits into three long branches, and maps show about 17 km² of water, about three times as much as Lake Capoey nearby. Its water is dark like tea, and many Ite palm trees stand in it. Clear creeks with white sand flow into the lake, and you can watch fish swimming in them. On the southern branch lies Mashabo, a small Amerindian village; people cross the lake to it in small motorboats. Many people call Itiribisi the «Hot and Cold» lake: swimmers find warm water and then suddenly cold patches, because an underwater spring pushes cold water into the lake.

Find it on the globe

Lake Itiribisi 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.