Friday 18 July 2014
Chungara is a lake situated in the extreme north of Chile, in the Altiplano of Arica y Parinacota Region in the Lauca National Park. It is the 29th highest lake in the world (and the 10th highest in South America). It is near the volcanos Parinacota (20,827 ft) and Pomerape (20,413 ft). It was formed 8000 years ago, when a major collapse of the edifice of Parinacota produced an avalanche of 6 km³ of debris which blocked drainage pattern, thus creating the lake. The pencil catfish Trichomycterus chungarensis and the pupfish Orestias chungarensis are endemic to the lake basin. Source
