Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world with sharks. In view of this fact and due to the small distance to the Pacific Ocean, scientists believe that the territory on which the lake is now located used to be a large sea bay. Over time, the passage to the sea was closed and a lake was formed, in which sharks still live.
Nicaraguans call it Lago Cocibolca or Mar Dulce (Fresh Sea). Like at sea, there are strong waves, which raise the east winds blowing westward, towards The Pacific... The lake has entire island groups such as Ometepe and Solentiname. Powerful storms periodically occur on the lake.
In July 2014, the Nicaraguan Canal route was approved between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, which will pass through Lake Nicaragua. Construction began on December 22, 2014. This circumstance is associated with the objections of opponents of construction, who fear that with the start of ocean shipping, the lake will lose its significance as a source of fresh water. But the organizers of the construction say that they have carried out the necessary dredging works on the lake, while refusing to use explosives in its waters.
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Excerpt from Nicaragua (lake)
Sonya was softened, agitated and touched by everything that happened that day, especially by the mysterious performance of the fortune-telling that she just saw. Now that she knew that on the occasion of the renewal of Natasha's relationship with Prince Andrei, Nikolai could not marry Princess Marya, she happily felt the return of that mood of self-sacrifice in which she loved and was accustomed to living. And with tears in her eyes and with the joy of being aware of the accomplishment of a magnanimous act, she, several times interrupted by tears that dimmed her velvet black eyes, wrote that touching letter, the receipt of which so amazed Nicholas.In the guardhouse, where Pierre was taken, the officer and the soldiers who took him treated him with hostility, but at the same time and respectfully. There was also a sense in their attitude towards him and doubt about who he was (isn't it very important person), and hostility due to their still fresh personal struggle with him.
But when, on the morning of another day, the shift came, Pierre felt that for the new guard - for officers and soldiers - it no longer had the meaning that it had for those who took it. And indeed, in this big, fat man in a peasant's caftan, the other day's guards did not see that living person who fought so desperately with the marauder and the escort soldiers and said a solemn phrase about saving the child, but they saw only the seventeenth of those contained for some reason, ordered by the higher authorities, taken by the Russians. If there was anything special about Pierre, it was only his awkward, concentratedly pensive look and French, in which he, surprisingly for the French, spoke well. Despite the fact that on the same day Pierre was connected to the other suspicious persons taken, since the officer needed a separate room that he occupied.
All the Russians who were detained with Pierre were people of the lowest rank. And all of them, recognizing Pierre as a master, shunned him, especially since he spoke French. Pierre sadly heard the mockery of himself.
The next day, in the evening, Pierre learned that all these detainees (and, probably, he too) should have been tried for arson. On the third day, Pierre was taken with others to some house, where a French general with a white mustache, two colonels and other Frenchmen with scarves on their hands were sitting. Pierre, on an equal basis with others, was asked with that, allegedly exceeding human weaknesses, with the accuracy and definiteness with which the defendants are usually treated, questions about who he is? where he was? for what purpose? etc.
These questions, leaving aside the essence of life and excluding the possibility of disclosing this essence, like all questions raised in courts, had the purpose only of substituting that groove along which the judges wanted the answers of the defendant to flow and lead him to the desired goal, that is to the charge. As soon as he began to say something that did not satisfy the purpose of the accusation, they accepted the groove, and the water could flow wherever it pleased. In addition, Pierre experienced the same thing that the defendant experiences in all courts: bewilderment why they asked him all these questions. He felt that it was only out of condescension or, as it were, out of courtesy that this trick of the groove being substituted was used. He knew that he was in the power of these people, that only power brought him here, that only power gave them the right to demand answers to questions, that the only purpose of this meeting was to accuse him. And therefore, since there was power and there was a desire to accuse, there was no need for the trick of questions and court. It was obvious that all the answers had to lead to guilt. When asked what he did when he was taken, Pierre replied with some tragedy that he was carrying a child to the parents, qu "il avait sauve des flammes [whom he saved from the flames]. - Why did he fight the marauder?” Pierre replied, that he defended the woman, that the protection of the offended woman is the duty of every man, that ... He was stopped: this did not go to the point. Why was he in the courtyard of a house on fire, where witnesses saw him? He replied that he went to see what was going on in They stopped him again: they didn’t ask him where he was going, but why was he near the fire? Who was he? They repeated the first question to which he said he didn’t want to answer. Again he answered that he couldn’t say that. ...
It is found in the forest, and the shark is in the sea, we all know from early childhood. But, just as wolves can live in sandy or snowy deserts, so sharks sometimes feel pretty good in fresh waters.
Of the 550 species of these cartilaginous fish, about 15-20 swim in estuaries, river mouths, and sometimes rise quite high upstream.
One of the most famous serial shark attacks on humans took place in the river. But - this is still not a typical behavior of marine predators, which spend most of their time in salt waters. At the same time, there are some species that love coastal places more than others and often swim in shallow bays and estuaries of large rivers.
So, for example, such habits are inherent in a fairly well-known, which is also called bullish. This relatively slow and omnivorous predator is not averse to "feasting" on garbage or carrion, but at the same time it quite often attacks a person, sometimes with fatal outcomes.
Watch the video - Blunt shark:
Some other closely related species that are part of the vast group of gray sharks have similar habits. But, nevertheless, they are all sea inhabitants. Even the so-called "Ganges shark" is just a part of the population of fish constantly living in the seas and only periodically entering the river.
So are there freshwater sharks? Those who spend their whole life in rivers or lakes, and reproduce there?
Freshwater sharks exist
It turns out, yes.
Moreover, they are represented by the only species known to science. There is only one place on Earth in which purely freshwater sharks constantly live, and not just some trifle, but rather large predators, sometimes.
This lake is located in Central America and is called Nicaragua (as well as the country in which it is located).
The lake is quite large (the largest in Mesoamerica). It is not far from its shores to the Pacific Ocean, with which, however, there is no direct water communication. But the San Juan River connects the reservoir with the Caribbean Sea.
There is a version that it is along this river that sea predators swim from the Atlantic.
Watch the video - Freshwater sharks in the rivers:
But today most researchers hold a different opinion. They believe that freshwater sharks have been apart for a very long time - since millions of years ago this former sea bay separated from the oceans.
But many local fishermen are sure that there are two species of sharks in the waters of Nicaragua. Allegedly, some live here permanently, while others swim from below along the river.
But ichthyologists do not confirm these stories, distinguishing the Nicaraguan inhabitants into a special species of Sarcharhinus nicaraguensis, which, however, is sometimes called the freshwater form of the bull shark.
And along the rapids channel of San Juan it would be rather difficult to climb even 200 kilometers separating the lake from the ocean. So, most likely, the scientists are right - the predators, who were once marine inhabitants, were really able to fully adapt to the local conditions.
Interestingly, in Nicaragua, in addition to sharks, there are also freshwater sawfish, sticks and one type of large typical ocean herring.
And very close by there is another smaller lake, called Managua, connected to the first small river. So, all these sea "guests" are not observed in it!
Features of freshwater sharks
However, let's leave these riddles to ichthyologists and move on to our shark. Representatives of this species grow up to 3 meters and even slightly more. At the same time, as already mentioned, they often attack a person. They also hunt dogs.
Earlier, even before the arrival of the Spaniards, several Indian tribes lived on the shores of the lake. Some of the local natives had it. They buried their dead in the lake, giving their bodies to be eaten by sharks.
Perhaps this was done in order to appease predators or spirits living in the water.
Sending their relatives to the afterlife, the Indians dressed them up, putting on, among other things, and valuable jewellery... This tradition existed for quite a long time even after the official adoption of Christianity.
One story says that one of the white settlers living nearby decided to take advantage of the situation and hunted sharks, extracting jewelry from their stomachs. As the legend says, he managed to get rich, but to take advantage of the wealth - no longer.
The Indians killed him and then burned down the house. Today, of course, is no longer in honor.
Many locals themselves. In the middle of the last century, catches were quite large, and shark meat served as a good help for not very rich Nicaraguans.
Relatives of the Nicaraguan freshwater shark enter many major rivers and shipping channels. Not far away, in the Panama Canal, they often meet its closest relative, the blunt shark. The same predator was observed during inland waters Guatemala, Louisiana, Florida and elsewhere.
The Indian gray shark seems to enjoy attacking pilgrims in the Ganges and also appears in other rivers. South-East Asia... And yet, all these vagabonds, as well as about a dozen and a half other species, spend most of their lives at sea.
And only the gray shark from the Central American Lake Nicaragua is the only full-fledged freshwater inhabitant among all its close and distant relatives.
There are thousands of bodies of water in the world, and each of them is special. Some are famous for their size, others for the composition of water, others extraordinary beauty, fourth with unique flora and fauna. Lake Nicaragua combines all these qualities and also differs interesting story occurrence and a kind of hydrological regime. Every year this natural reservoir attracts thousands of adventure seekers and just curious citizens who study our planet with interest. We also offer you to take a small excursion to an amazing and mysterious lake Nicaragua. Unfortunately or fortunately, you will not meet sharks on it, but we promise that our virtual walk will be no less exciting and informative than the real one.
Location
From the name of the lake, everyone can guess that it is located in the distant Latin American republic of Nicaragua. If you recall the school geography lessons, it will become clear that Nicaragua is washed by two oceans at once - the Atlantic in the east and the Pacific in the west. In the Atlantic, just off the coast of the country, the Caribbean Sea, which has become a symbol of pirates of all times, splashes. From the north, Nicaragua has a common border with Honduras, but this is not so important for our trip. In the south, the republic borders on a very distinctive country - Costa Rica.
So, the purpose of our trip is Lake Nicaragua, which is located about a kilometer from this border. Moreover, a rather extended piece south coast the reservoir practically repeats its shape. In view of this proximity, Costa Ricans often visit the lake for recreation, and some - to conduct illegal economic activities on it. The Pacific Ocean is less than 10 km from the lake, which has its own scientific explanation. From Caribbean the distance is much greater and is in a straight line, that is, through the jungle and swamps, about 110 km. Several large and small settlements have sprung up on the shores of the lake. The most significant of them are the town of Rivas (in the east) and Big City Granada in the northeast.
How to get there?
We found out where Lake Nicaragua is. Now let's figure out how we can get there, for example, from Moscow. The capital of the distant republic of Nicaragua is the city of Managua. He grew up on the shore of the lake of the same name, much smaller in size than the object of our trip, but also very beautiful. Managua has a large international Airport, where there are several flights from Moscow.
Note that you need to cover 10,800 km by air. The journey will not only be long, but also not very comfortable, since you will have to make 2 transfers. The first will be in one of the European countries (most often the Netherlands and the city of Amsterdam), the second either in America (the most suitable cities are Houston and Miami), or in Panama, or in Mexico, or in Costa Rica. The flight will take at least 22 hours. The price of a one-way ticket is about 16,000 rubles. A visa is not needed for Russians, but you will have to pay $ 10. e. at the entrance and 35 usd. e. when leaving the country.
Note that the time difference in Nicaragua and Moscow is 9 hours. From Managua we need to get to the city of Granada, which is already very close - only 42 km. You can overcome them by taxi or by an exotic Nicaraguan bus, here called the chicken bus. Along the lake, from its western side, there is a road, along which you can get to other settlements.
A few words about history
Few people know that the Republic of Nicaragua owes its name to the Indian tribes of Nicarao, who were once the rulers of these places. When the Spaniards arrived here, the tribe was ruled by the leader of Nicarao, who heroically died fighting the pioneers. In memory of him and of the people who inhabited these lands, the country is named, and with it the lake of Nicaragua. The incredible proximity of the Pacific Ocean gives the right to assume that the lake was once part of it, but thanks to tectonic processes that took place in prehistoric times, part of the land rose, separating the lake from the ocean. To some extent, this is confirmed by the finds of paleontologists, as well as the unique composition of the fauna living in the reservoir.
Lake Nicaragua: description of the reservoir
This natural object called unique for a reason. In terms of size, the lake is the second in Latin America and 19th in the world. Its surface area is 8157 km 2, it is 177 km long, its maximum width is over 70 km, and its depth reaches 70 meters. West Banks the lakes are more or less ennobled. As already noted, there is a road leading to Costa Rica, and beyond the village of Rivas, almost to the very border, it stretches almost at the very coast. On the western side, not so far from the lake, there are a number of still active volcanoes.
The eastern shores of the reservoir are less developed. There is also a road here, but it is of a lower category, so it becomes difficult to pass during the rainy season. On it you can get to small settlements - San Carlos (there is a local airport), San Migelit, Acoyapa. The shortest distance from them to the lake is 5 km. Impenetrable jungles and swamps begin to the east of these cities. On the eastern shores of the lake there are a couple of fishing villages, for example La Pelona or Puerto Diaz, but they are not of tourist interest.
Islands
Lake Nicaragua has given shelter to about three hundred islands and islets. Most of them are uninhabited. The largest island in the reservoir is called Ometele (in local “two mountains”). There are indeed two crater hills. active volcanoes... The outlines of the island resemble a dumbbell, at the ends of which there are volcanoes, and a thin isthmus serves as a bridge between them. The length of this "dumbbell" is 31 km, the width of its spherical parts is 10 and 5 km. Ometele is inhabited, about 30 thousand people live here.
The second largest island in the lake is called Zapatera. It has its own volcano, the crater height of which is 630 meters, and the area of the entire island is no more than 52 km 2. This piece of land has been declared a nature reserve.
The third island of note is Solentiname. More precisely, this is a whole archipelago, which includes 4 more or less large islets: Mancaroncito, Mancaron (the largest), San Fernando and La Venada, there are also 32 very small ones that do not even have a name. This archipelago is also declared a national reserve.
Water resources
The San Juan River flows from Lake Nicaragua and runs to the Caribbean Sea. Shipping is so developed on it that the city of Granada, located from Atlantic Ocean at a decent distance, it is considered an Atlantic port, not a Pacific one. By the way, it was along the San Juan River that more numerous pirates fell into Lake Nicaragua, who felt quite at ease here. Now this river helps representatives of the oceanic ichthyofauna to swim into the reservoir.
The second large river important for the lake is the Tipitapa, which connects the bodies of water in Nicaragua and Managua. The lake is fed by about twenty small rivulets flowing into it from the eastern, southern and western sides.
Flora
Lake Nicaragua lies in the tropics. It is always warm here, daytime temperatures do not drop below + 25 ° C in winter and + 32 ° C in summer. This region is characterized by a distinct rainy season and quite powerful trade winds. By the way, real storms are not uncommon on the lake.
This climate determines the growth of a wide variety of vegetation along the lake shores and near them, many of which are unique, such as redwood and rubber plants. Pine and oak can also be found here, and mangroves reign in the area between the Caribbean Sea and the eastern shores of the lake.
Fauna
Active economic activity contributes to deforestation, which is changing the microclimate in the region and its biostructure. Jaguars, anteaters, tapirs, several species of monkeys, ocelots, cougars, crocodiles are still preserved here, unusual amphibians live in the coastal thickets - ambistomas, similar to salamanders, but when the Nicaraguan Canal is completed, the route of which will stretch across the lake, their fate will be deplorable. Almost all sources, describing interesting facts about Lake Nicaragua, call sharks in the first place. But on the coast of the reservoir there is a no less interesting animal - helmeted basilisks. These are ancient and rather large lizards, the body length of which reaches 75 cm. A curious fact - basilisks can run not only on land, but also on the water surface of the lake, while developing a speed of up to 12 km / h.
Shark
The description of Lake Nicaragua - a reservoir, animal world which is unusually rich, if not to say about sharks. The reservoir we are describing is the only freshwater lake in the world where these predators are found. Locals believe that there are two varieties of them here - the visitante (white-bellied) and tintoreros (red-bellied). Both belong to the bull shark species. Thanks to these predators, Lake Nicaragua is considered quite dangerous for divers, surfers and just swimmers, because many cases of shark attacks on people are recorded every year. Often, predator attacks end in death for their victims.
Bull sharks have a characteristic feature - a blunt snout. They grow in length up to 4 meters. This species is capable of dwelling in both salt and fresh water. These predators hunt not only at depth, but also in shallow water, which creates a tangible threat to people swimming in the lake. The freshwater shark of Lake Nicaragua, as well as the swordfish, are indirect evidence that this body of water was once part of the ocean.
Where to stay, what to do?
We got acquainted with all the features and interesting facts regarding Lake Nicaragua. Travelers arriving here can stay in one of the hotels in the city of Granada or the island of Ometele. Hotel prices are very low, you can rent a decent room for just $ 30. e. per day. To get to Ometele, you need to take a ferry in the town of Rivas. You can't get to the island from Granada.
Arriving at Lake Nicaragua, you can catch exotic and ordinary fish here. In coastal settlements tackles and boats are available for rent. The catch for a certain fee will be prepared for you right there on the shore. In addition to fishing on the lake, you can visit local attractions. One of them is the Ometele Caves with prehistoric cave paintings. Of interest are also trips to the Mombacho volcano, declared nature reserve, and to the village of Masaya (lies at the foot of another volcano). There is a market with the best souvenirs that you should definitely bring home from your long trip to Lake Nicaragua.
Hello, friends!
Today I will show you amazing beauty, one of the most beautiful places for me in Nicaragua) True, true, I’ll show you, because we have more impressions and photos from this place than words that could be written.
There are two places to admire today - the city of Granada on Lake Nicaragua, and Lake Apoyo with the small village of Catarina - an amazingly atmospheric place. But, before moving on to the most delicious, I suggest taking a little walk with us around the city of Granada. Precisely "a little", because we ourselves have passed this city in a very fast period of time, or rather, we have passed it. Our walk was quite short and it took place in a horse-drawn carriage.
City of Granada and Lake Nicaragua
Honestly, this is, straight, some kind of rock for me, with cities named "Granada". Already the second one flies past me, or maybe it’s me flying past him. In Spain, we never got to Granada, and in Nico we also did not see the city, although we really wanted to. But, as it was said in - we know that we will come back and make up for everything, so we are not particularly upset.
In general, Granada is perhaps the most beautiful city in Nicaragua, judging by the places that we have seen. Still, even a short walk is enough to understand whether you like the place or not, and compare it with what you have seen before. In the city, we visited the central park, where we were treated to a famous Nicaraguan dish, and in the afternoon we took a carriage ride to Lake Nicaragua. The carriage ride took no more than 20 minutes and went mainly along the outskirts of the city. Well, that is the walk was not as long as we would like, and it left an annoying feeling of some kind of incompleteness, or something. So, unfortunately, it will not work to tell more about Granada than we saw, so I will show you a couple of photos and, perhaps, we will close the topic with this city before our next visit)
Smart horses are the standard transport for curious tourists.
View well of the city streets from the "carriage window
"
A famous cafe in the central park of Granada. This is where Vigoron should be tried
Sometimes there are also free horses. True, they look completely sad (
Apparently some kind of local attraction. But I don't know which one)
But, unlike the city of Granada itself, we managed to see and feel well the atmosphere of Lake Nicaragua, on the banks of which the city is located. To be honest, we deliberately went for a walk on the lake at the expense of time to explore Granada, it’s too famous. Nicaragua is included in the twenty largest lakes world, so you can imagine the size of the reservoir. For a better vision of the picture, I note that Lake Baikal is in seventh or eighth place in this rating. In different sources - the information is different.
Lake Nicaragua is known for being freshwater, but also home to sharks. Special such, freshwater and very dangerous sharks. I'll tell you right away - we haven't seen them. No matter how we looked at the water surface, not a single shark showed a fin. One could, of course, complain somewhere, like a real Russian tourist, but I decided to refrain.
The lake itself definitely deserves to spend your time and money on it. At least, this is the first time we have been to such a huge freshwater reservoir.
Because We arrived big company, then immediately rented a separate boat for an hour's ride. We paid for the boat 350 cordobas ($ 13), although the amount of 700 cordobas was originally announced. The walk itself was very interesting and informative. We were not only given a ride on the lake between small islands, but also had a short excursion.
Already on the pier there are beautiful views.
It's like a jungle in a jungle, and somewhere in the bushes there is someone's tent-house)
They said that almost all the islands near Granada were bought by wealthy people. They use them as summer cottages. It's just that the islands are so small that only one house of some rich man can be built on them. Those. whole island Is one villa. Some beautiful villas are available for weekend rentals. Pointing to one of them, our guide announced the price of $ 300-400 per weekend. Considering that several families can accommodate there, the price is very tasty.
Each island is a separate villa
They showed us the houses of the richest and most famous and vice versa, poorer people.
Here, in the neighborhood, in the bushes, people are clearly simpler)
Brought to a small island where monkeys live. How many of them are there, I did not understand, but literally a couple of individuals came out to feed. They were fed only from the boat, because no one lands on the islands just like that.
They asked us a riddle with the participation of outlandish plants. It was really very interesting and unusual.
In the center of the photo you can see a branch on a tree. Looks like long peas.
And then we took a ride with a breeze, overtaking boats full of tourists.
As a result: a walk on Lake Nicaragua, we can put a solid top five. It was very interesting, not too long, and it was really unusual for us. Sharks would still be seen, and in general there would be no price for such an excursion)
The village of Katarina and Lake Apoyo (Laguna de Apoyo).
Perhaps, after - this is the second must-see place in the country. You may not agree, but this is definitely our personal rating of Nicaragua attractions. Lake de Apoyo is indicated everywhere on the plates as a lagoon, but people still call it "lago", that is, a lake.
I will not write a lot about this lake, not because there is nothing, but because this is such a place where you just need to come, see and fall in love! The village itself, according to the pope, is popularly referred to as a "white village". Why she is white - we still do not understand. Either dad confused something, or we do not know some details. The village is lovely, small, but there is nothing to see in it at all. We did not see any white houses like in Santorini, or anything else worthy of special attention.
Lake Apoyo - my love in Nicaragua)
There will be a lot of photo-spam of this place, because I just can't resist.
Here you can take a horse and take a walk around the lake
Handsome - volcano
If you look closely, you can see what strong wind was that day. The trees just lie.
My boys were almost blown away)
There are special walking paths around the lake
I want to fly in such a place)
And Yaska is fooling around and laughing out loud)
Tourists relax and enjoy the views
Our patient guide) Photo from the thirtieth time - this is about us)
There is a small souvenir market next to the lake and various local delicacies. Those. the scheme of rest is as follows: we arrived, looked at the lake, meditated for half a day and you can leave.
A must-have souvenir from Niko - painting
True, there are other villages near Katarina that you can explore along the way. Each of the villages is famous for its own craft and sells mountains of necessary and not very souvenirs. We stopped at a couple of places to make sure of this and spend a little money. Indeed, there are more than enough souvenirs, handicrafts and even furniture in these villages, for every taste and budget. I don’t remember the names of these villages, because dad just asked local where call in, and they poked a finger. I would go there with a bag of money - and I would stay there for a couple of days)
Even in the poorest and most unprecedented houses, they do and sell something
Well, a little about the lake itself. As a local elderly man told us, the main feature of this reservoir is its depth. It turns out that Apoyo is in the throat extinct volcano and until now no one knows its depth. The lake made a tremendous impression on me. I met reviews on the network that someone did not like it, but someone, on the contrary, advises to see only Lake Nicaragua. It just confirms once again that all markers are different in taste and color.
Perhaps it's all about the viewing angle. We saw the lake exclusively from above. Framed by forests and volcanoes, it looked just amazing. Walking along the lake along the tourist trail, I couldn't take my eyes off this water-mountain landscape. In such places I always have a question: “Well, how? How does the Earth create such beauty? "
Freedom...
And love...
I know that there are many entertainments for tourists in this place. There are hotels, and houses for rent, and you can swim in it and go fishing. Those. you can come here and have a good rest. Personally, I would be interested to live in such a place, among many forests, surrounded by local flora and fauna. But I do not exclude that such a pastime will turn out to be rather monotonous and quickly get bored. So, everything is as always, we tell you, and you draw your own conclusions)
Lake Nicaragua is the largest in Central America. On the American continent it ranks 9th, slightly inferior in size to Lake Titicaca. It is ranked 19 among the largest lakes in the world in the world. The area of its water surface is 8264 sq. km. The volume of water is 108 cubic meters. km. Maximum depth is equal to 26 meters. The maximum length of the reservoir is 161 km, and the corresponding width is 71 km. It is located at an altitude of 32.7 meters above sea level. It is connected by the San Juan River (180 km long) with the Caribbean Sea. It is also connected to Lake Managua (area 1,024 sq. M), located to the northwest, by the Tipitapa River.
Fauna
A notable feature of the freshwater reservoir is that it is home to Atlantic tarpon and sharks. These are marine fish that live in salt water. From time immemorial, they fell into the lake along the San Juan River. In those days, it was blocked by numerous rapids, but the same sharks jumped over them like salmon and fell from the Atlantic into the lake water. The conversation here is about such a type of cartilaginous fish as a bull shark. It is common for her to spend part of her time in fresh water. An example is the Amazon River. Bull sharks climb thousands of kilometers up this mighty stream of water.
Experts have studied the movement of sharks and found that they travel from the waters of the Atlantic to the lake water in 7-10 days. In addition to cartilaginous, 16 species of cichlids live in the reservoir, which are endemic. In addition, there are other types of cichlids, which include tilapia. However, alien species pose a threat to the indigenous inhabitants of these waters, as they violate the verified balance of the unique ecosystem.
Islands
There is a whole group of islands on Lake Nicaragua. These are Ometepe and Solentiname. Ometepe is an island with an area of 276 sq. km. It was created by two volcanoes Concepcion (height 1610 m) and Maderas (height 1394 m). These volcanoes erupted, and mountains formed with an isthmus between them. The volcanic island is 31 km long and varies in width from 5 to 10 km. Agriculture and animal husbandry are well developed on the island. The basis is the cultivation of bananas. This piece of land is inhabited by almost 30 thousand people. In addition, there is the volcanic island of Zapatera. This is a shield volcano. People don't live on it.
As for Solentiname, it is an archipelago, which includes 4 large islands and 32 small islets with rocky shores. All of them are of volcanic origin. The total area is 190 sq. km. Major islands are called: La Venada, Mancaron, Mancaroncito, San Fernando. The most high point, 257 meters above sea level, located on the island of Mancaron. Islands covered rainforest... It is home to 76 species of various birds, including parrots and toucans. The water is rich in fish. The islands are home to 1000 people.
Lake Nicaragua on Central America map
Ecology
Strong east winds blowing towards the Pacific Ocean are not uncommon on the reservoir. This generates not only high waves but also powerful storms. As for the ecology, over the past 40 years, Lake Nicaragua has been heavily polluted. Every day 32 tons of polluted wastewater flows into it. All this is due to the fact that there are many industrial enterprises... As for the treatment facilities, they are practically not being built.
Shipping
In the northwestern part of the lake is the city of Granada, which is seaport... From the Caribbean, ships enter the reservoir along the San Juan River. Currently, these waters are planned to be used for the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal, which will significantly relieve the Panama Canal.
