Lake · Guatemala
Lake Izabal
Lake Izabal is the largest lake in Guatemala. It lies in the north-east of the country, close to the Caribbean Sea, and manatees, jaguars and howler monkeys live in and around it.
Picture credit: mardoqueo sagastume (CC BY 3.0) · mardoqueo sagastume (CC BY 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Lake Izabal?
Countries on its shores: Guatemala.
Largest lake of: Guatemala.
Middle of the lake: 15.50° N, 89.17° W
The story behind it
Lake Izabal is about 48 km long and up to 20 km wide, but at most 18 metres deep. Its surface lies only a few metres above the sea. The Polochic River flows in from the west and brings about 70 percent of the water. On the other side, the water leaves through the Río Dulce, which flows through a smaller lake, the Golfete Dulce, into the Caribbean Sea. Because ships could sail up this river, pirates were a danger long ago. So in 1652 the Spanish built the fortress Castillo de San Felipe de Lara to guard the lake, and it still stands today. Manatees, also called sea cows, swim in the lake, and even bull sharks have been seen here. Jaguars, spider monkeys and howler monkeys live nearby, and many Q'eqchi' Maya communities live around the shore. The main town on the lake is El Estor.
Find it on the globe
Lake Izabal 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 Lake Izabal?
Lake Izabal covers about 590 km² and is about 48 km long, making it the largest lake in Guatemala. Some sources give a bigger size, up to about 672 km², so the figures are not exact.
How does the water of Lake Izabal reach the sea?
It flows out through the Río Dulce and a smaller lake called the Golfete Dulce. From there it reaches the Caribbean Sea.
Why is there a fortress at Lake Izabal?
Long ago, pirates could sail up the river to the lake. To guard it, the Spanish built the Castillo de San Felipe de Lara in 1652, and visitors can still see it today.
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.
Last checked: