Earth from Space: Lake Maracaibo
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo, the largest natural body of water in South America.
Zoom in to explore this image at its full 10 m resolution or click on the circles to learn more.
The vase-shaped Lake Maracaibo extends about 200 km inland and is linked to the Gulf of Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea through a narrow straight, which looks like the ‘neck’ of the vase at the top of the image.
With an area of over 13,000 sq km, Lake Maracaibo is generally considered the largest lake in South America, although by some estimates it should be considered an inlet of the Caribbean Sea since much of its water is brought in by its direct connection to the ocean.
As a result, the water in the northern part of the lake is rather brackish, while the southern waters are fresh, owing to the many rivers that flow into the lake. The biggest, the Catatumbo River, can be seen entering the lake from southwest, where a large amount of sediment carried by the river appears as a yellowish plume.
The port of Maracaibo can be seen in light brown on the west side of the strait. After Caracas, Maracaibo is Venezuela’s second city and the country's oil capital.
Zooming in, the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge can be spotted as a grey straight line connecting the city to the eastern side of the strait. Spanning eight kilometres, it is one of the longest bridges in the world. Moving south on the eastern side of the lake, is the city of Cabimas, another important centre for oil fields.
Maracaibo is one of the oldest lakes on Earth with major oil deposits underwater and around its shore. Its basin is one of the major oil-producing areas of the world, making up about two-thirds of Venezuela’s oil production.
Unfortunately, its once pristine waters have been heavily polluted: continuous leaks from oil pipes, along with sewage and river run-off, have caused the lake to become contaminated. Although nice to see from space, the emerald-green swirls in the lake waters, visible in this image captured in August 2023, denote runaway blooms of toxic cyanobacteria, or blue–green algae, which pose a serious threat to ecology and human health.
Copernicus Sentinel-2’s frequent revisits over the same area and high resolution allow changes in inland water bodies and the coastal environment to be closely monitored. With its 13 spectral channels, the mission’s imager can detect harmful algal blooms and measure water clarity – giving a clear indication of the health and pollution levels.
