Uru Uru Lake

---

title: "Uru Uru Lake" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lakes-of-oruro-department", "ramsar-sites-in-bolivia", "tourist-attractions-in-oruro-department", "environmental-disasters", "altiplano"] description: "Lake in Bolivia" topic_path: "general/lakes-of-oruro-department" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uru_Uru_Lake" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Lake in Bolivia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox body of water"]

Field	Value
name	Uru Uru Lake
image	Lago Uru Uru Bolivia Satellite map 67.09971W 18.png
location	Oruro Department
coords
inflow	Río Desaguadero
outflow	Río Desaguadero, Laq'a Jawira
basin_countries	Bolivia
area	214 km2
max-depth	1.5 m
elevation	3686 m
cities	Oruro, Machacamarca
pushpin_label	Uru Uru Lake
pushpin_map	Bolivia#South America
pushpin_map_alt	Location ofUru Uru Lake in Bolivia.
pushpin_relief	y
pushpin_label_position	bottom
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	10
embedded	{{Designation list
embed	yes
designation1	Ramsar
designation1_offname	Lagos Poopó y Uru Uru
designation1_date	11 July 2002
designation1_number	1181}}
::

| name = Uru Uru Lake | image = Lago Uru Uru Bolivia Satellite map 67.09971W 18.png | caption = | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Oruro Department | coords = | type = | inflow = Río Desaguadero | outflow = Río Desaguadero, Laq'a Jawira | catchment = | basin_countries = Bolivia | length = | width = | area = 214 km2 | depth = | max-depth = 1.5 m | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = 3686 m | frozen = | islands = | cities = Oruro, Machacamarca | website = | reference = | pushpin_label = Uru Uru Lake | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_map = Bolivia#South America | pushpin_map_alt = Location ofUru Uru Lake in Bolivia. | pushpin_relief = y | pushpin_label_position= bottom | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 10 | embedded = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Ramsar | designation1_offname = Lagos Poopó y Uru Uru | designation1_date = 11 July 2002 | designation1_number = 1181}} NOTOC Uru Uru Lake is a lake in the Oruro Department in Bolivia. It is fed by the Desaguadero River and the Jach'a Jawira. It is situated at an elevation of 3,686 m, its surface area is 214 km2.

The lake is formed by the flow of the Desaguadero River at its mouth into Lake Poopó, over the extensive sedimentation known as "Santo Tomás" from the small hermitage found there that was completely inundated. The formation dates to 1962. The river connects Lake Titicaca and Lake Poopó.

Ecology

The lake used to be a tourist attraction for boating and fishing, as it contained a large number of fish. During a long drought in 2016, the lake lost almost all of its water. This was described by local media and experts as an environmental catastrophe caused by several factors, including climate change and the use of water for mining.

, a large part of the lake is covered by trash. Much of it is plastic from nearby Oruro where residents dump their refuse. There is also contamination from run-off from nearby mines as the town Oruro is an industrial mining center. The lake is polluted by heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc, and arsenic.

Gallery

File:Lago Uru Uru Chipaya 1.jpg File:Lago Uru Uru Chipaya 7.jpg File:Oruro y el Lago Uru Uru.jpg

References

References

1. "Lagos Poopó y Uru Uru".
2. {{in lang. es Marcelo Tedesqui, {{usurped
3. "Lake Uru-Uru in Bolivia covered in plastic waste". Kold.com.
4. Quintanilla, Victor. (2019-07-30). "Communities request international support to save Bolivia’s Poopó and Uru Uru lakes". [[Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense]] (AIDA).

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::