# Lake Yuriria

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{{Infobox body of water
| name = Lake Yuriria
| native_name        = {{native name|es|Laguna de Yuriria}}
| image = Lago Yuriria, Guanajuato- Yuriria Lake, Guanajuato (24321532035).jpg
| caption = 
| image_bathymetry = 
| caption_bathymetry = 
| location = [Guanajuato](/source/Guanajuato), [Mexico](/source/Mexico)
| coordinates = {{coord|20|14|51|N|101|8|58|W|type:waterbody_region:MX|display=it}}
| pushpin_map = Mexico Guanajuato#Mexico
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Lake Yuriria in Guanajuato##Location of Lake Yuriria in Mexico
| type = Reservoir
| inflow = canal to the Lerma River
| outflow = canal to the Lerma River
| catchment = [Lerma River](/source/Lerma_River)
| basin_countries = Mexico
| length = 
| width = 
| area = {{convert|7200|ha|abbr=on}}
| depth = 
| max-depth = {{convert|2.6|m|abbr=on}}
| volume = 
| residence_time = 
| shore = 
| elevation = {{convert|1730|m|abbr=on}}
| islands =
| cities = [Yuriria](/source/Yuriria)
| embedded = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Laguna de Yuriria
| designation1_date = 2 February 2004
| designation1_number = 1934<ref name = rsis>{{Cite web|title=Ciénegas de Lerma|website=[Ramsar](/source/Ramsar_Convention) Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1361|accessdate=26 July 2022}}</ref>}}
}}

'''Lake Yuriria''' (Spanish ''Laguna de Yuriria'') is a [reservoir](/source/reservoir) in [Guanajuato](/source/Guanajuato) state of central [Mexico](/source/Mexico). The reservoir has existed since the 16th century, and is used for irrigation of the surrounding farms. The lake is an important habitat for waterbirds, and was declared a [wetland of international importance](/source/Ramsar_site).<ref name = rsis/>

==Geography==
Lake Yuriria is located in the basin of the [Lerma River](/source/Lerma_River), in the southern portion of Guanajuato state. It lies west of the [Lerma River](/source/Lerma_River), to which it is connected by a canal. The town of [Yuriria](/source/Yuriria) is on the south shore of the lake, and the lake is within Yuriria Municipality.

The lake covers an area of 7200 ha, and is generally shallow, with a maximum depth of 2.6 m.<ref name = Sigala>Sigala, Itzel, et al. “Basic Limnology of 30 Continental Waterbodies of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt across Climatic and Environmental Gradients.” Boletín de La Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, vol. 69, no. 2, 2017, pp. 313–70. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26461901. Accessed 26 Jul. 2022.</ref>

The lake is linked by a canal to the [Lerma River](/source/Lerma_River), which refills the lake during wet periods. Lake water is distributed to adjacent farms by irrigation channels during dry months. Flow to and from the Lerma is regulated by gates.<ref name = Murphy>Murphy, Michael E. (2020) ''Irrigation In The Bajio Region Of Colonial Mexico''. Routledge, 2020. ISBN 9780367161149</ref>

[Lake Cuitzeo](/source/Lake_Cuitzeo) lies to the north. Lake Cuitzeo is mostly a closed, or [endorheic basin](/source/endorheic_basin), but historically it overflowed into Lake Yuriria via an old channel. Lake Cuitzeo's water is [brackish](/source/brackish) and unfit for irrigation, and by the 19th century a levee was built south of Lake Cuitzeo to prevent overflows into Lake Yuriria.<ref name = Murphy/>

==History==
The name is a shortened version ''Yuririapundaro'', which means "lake of blood" in the [Purépecha language](/source/Pur%C3%A9pecha_language). Prior to the Spanish conquest, the lake was part of the [Purépecha Empire](/source/Pur%C3%A9pecha_Empire).<ref name = Artes>“The Yuriria and Cuitzeo Monasteries.” Artes de México, no. 86/87, 1966, pp. 18–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24312711. Accessed 25 Jul. 2022.</ref>

The canal was constructed in 1548 at the direction of Friar Diego de Chávez, an [Augustinian](/source/Augustinians) friar, and is among the first hydraulic engineering works in colonial America. Friar Diego de Chávez also commenced construction of the Augustinan monastery in the town of [Yuriria](/source/Yuriria), on the southern shore of the lake.<ref name = Artes/><ref name = rsis/>

==Flora and fauna==
The lake is [eutrophic](/source/eutrophic), with low visibility (.2 meters), and abundant aquatic vegetation.<ref name = Sigala/>

The lake is an important habitat for migratory birds. 142 bird species were recorded between 1981 and 1997, of which 44 are aquatic.<ref name = birdlife>[http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/10056 Important Bird Areas factsheet: Laguna de Yuriria]. BirdLife International (2022). Accessed 27 July 2022.</ref> Species include the [red-tailed hawk](/source/red-tailed_hawk) (''Buteo jamaicensis''), [peregrine falcon](/source/peregrine_falcon) (''Falco peregrinus''), [blue-winged teal](/source/blue-winged_teal) (''Spatula discors''), [American wigeon](/source/American_wigeon) (''Mareca americana''), [Mexican duck](/source/Mexican_duck) (''Anas diazi''), [American white pelican](/source/American_white_pelican) (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos''), [Townsend's solitaire](/source/Townsend's_solitaire) (''Myadestes townsendi''), [black-vented oriole](/source/black-vented_oriole) (''Icterus wagleri''), [hooded oriole](/source/hooded_oriole) (''Icterus cucullatus''), and [black-polled yellowthroat](/source/black-polled_yellowthroat) (''Geothlypis speciosa'').<ref name = rsis/> It is designated an [Important Bird Area](/source/Important_Bird_Area).<ref name = birdlife/>

The land surrounding the lake is in the [Bajío dry forests](/source/Baj%C3%ADo_dry_forests) ecoregion.<ref name = dopa>[https://dopa-explorer.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ecoregion/60204 "Bajio dry forests"]. DOPA Explorer. Accessed 26 July 2022.</ref>

==Conservation==
In 2004 it was designated a [wetland of international importance](/source/Ramsar_site) under the [Ramsar convention](/source/Ramsar_convention). The Ramsar site covers 15,020 ha, and includes the entire lake and the lands around the shore.<ref name = rsis/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{commons cat}}

Category:Landforms of Guanajuato
Category:Ramsar sites in Mexico
Category:Protected areas of Guanajuato
Yuriria
Category:Important Bird Areas of Mexico
Category:Lerma River
Category:Yuriria

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lake Yuriria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Yuriria) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Yuriria?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.