Mar Chiquita

Where is Mar Chiquita?

Countries on its shores: Argentina.

Largest lake of: Argentina.

Middle of the lake: 30.50° S, 62.67° W

The story behind it

Mar Chiquita, also called Mar de Ansenuza, has no outflow. Rivers such as the Río Dulce, the Suquía and the Xanaes bring water in, but no river carries it away, so the salt stays in the lake. In dry times the lake shrinks to about 2 000 km², and its water becomes extremely salty. In wet times it grows much bigger and less salty. After record rains from 1977 the water rose so high that it flooded parts of Miramar, the only beach town on the southern shore. The lake is a paradise for birds: three kinds of flamingo live here, and up to 600 000 Wilson's phalaropes, small wading birds, gather in the area. In the lake lies Médano Island. Since 2022 the lake and its shores have been protected as Ansenuza National Park. By area, Mar Chiquita is the largest lake in Argentina.

Find it on the globe

Mar Chiquita 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.