Lake San Pablo

Where is Lake San Pablo?

Countries on its shores: Ecuador.

Largest lake of: Ecuador.

Middle of the lake: 0.21° N, 78.22° W

The story behind it

Lake San Pablo was made by a volcano. Long ago, a stream of lava blocked the valley, so the water could no longer flow away to the north, and a lake formed. Today a river called the Jatunyacu drains it. The lake is about 3.5 km long and 2.2 km wide. Sources give different sizes, but most say it covers about 6 km². That makes it bigger than the famous crater lake Cuicocha nearby. In the Kichwa language the lake is called Imbakucha, which means «lake of the climbing catfish», after a small black fish that used to be common here. Thick totora reeds grow on the shores, and craftspeople use them for their handicrafts. Grebes, cormorants and herons hunt for food. Every September, during the Yamor festival, swimmers cross the lake.

Find it on the globe

Lake San Pablo 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.