LAKE PETéN ITZá

'Lake Petén Itzá' a lake in central Petén in Guatemala. It is the second largest lake in Guatemala, being the Izabal lake the largest. It is located around . It has an area of 120.00 km² some 32Km. long and 5 km wide. Its maximum depth is 160 m. The lake area presents high levels of migration, due to the existence of natural resources such as wood, chewing gum, oil, and agricultural and pasture activities. Besides its archaeological richness, around 150,000 tourists pass through this region yearly.
The city of Flores, the capitol of El Petén, lies on and island near its southern shore. There are least 26 Maya sites surrounding the lake, and the remains from Tayasal, the Maya-Itza capitol, and the last one to be conquered in mesoamerica in 1697. There are at least 27 Maya sites aroud this lake.

This lake is also a wildlife paradise, with more than 100 important indigenous species such as the red snook fish, (''Petenia splendida''), crocodiles (''Crocodylus moreletii'' and ''Crocodylus acutus''), jaguars (''Panthera onca''), Pumas (''Puma concolor''), White-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), red brocket (''Mazana americana''), and several bird species, including parrots, toucans, and macaws. On its northeast shore is the ''Cerro Cahui Protected Biotope'', a natural reserve for butterflies is a 1,600 acre reserve is home to toucans, spider (''Ateles geoffroyi''), and howler monkeys (''Aluata Pallata''), (''Aluata Pigra''), and many other rain forest species.

Contents

References

References

★ Guatemalan Fauna

★ Guatemala Lakes and Lagoons

★ Photos of the lake

★ Photos of the lake Peten Itzá

★ Bathymetric map of the lake

★ Central Petén Maya Sites