Lake Valencia in northern Venezuela • Earth.com

Lake Valencia in northern Venezuela

06-28-2021


Lake Valencia in northern Venezuela Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency (ESA) features Lake Valencia in northern Venezuela, which formed a few million years ago.

The false-color image of the lake was processed in a way that makes the Henri Pittier National Park appear in fluorescent green.

The lake has become contaminated with untreated wastewater from nearby industrial and agricultural activities. Algal blooms caused over 60 percent of the native fish to vanish between 1960 and 1990. There are signs of human presence in the Valencia region from the fourth millennium BC onwards. Humans were also present earlier in other areas of what is now Carabobo, like in Bejuma . An important human settlement occurred around the Valencia Lake between 200 and 1000 AD. These people already practiced some kind of agriculture. 

Poor water quality in Lake Valencia limits opportunities for tourism and recreational activities. Also the lake was formed approximately 2-3 million years ago due to faulting and subsequent damming of the Valencia River. The lake has been completely dry during several discrete periods of time. State of Venezuela in Venezuela. Carabobo State which is located north.

By Chrissy Sexton. Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit:  European Space Agency

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