Lake Cote

Lake Cote
Lake Cote is located in Costa Rica
Lake Cote
Lake Cote
Location in Costa Rica
Coordinates10°34′53″N 84°54′42″W / 10.581389°N 84.911667°W / 10.581389; -84.911667
Typecrater lake
Max. length1 km (0.62 mi)
Surface area
1.983 km2 (0.766 sq mi)
Max. depth18 m (59 ft)
Surface elevation
680 m (2,230 ft)

Lake Cote (Spanish: Lago Cote), originally known as Lake Cóter, is a fresh water crater lake located in the northern highlands of Costa Rica. It is currently the largest natural lake in Costa Rica at 1.98 square kilometres (0.76 mi2). Its depth varies between 6 and 18 m (20 and 59 ft).

Location

Situated in Cote district, Guatuso canton, of Alajuela province, between the Arenal Volcano and Tenorio Volcano, Lake Cote is located near the largest overall lake in Costa Rica, Lake Arenal, which was artificially increased in size in 1979.

Physical aspects

It is a maar-based crater lake with a heartlike, ovoid shape and a 1 km (0.62 mi) diameter. The average depth is 6.30 m (20.7 ft), with a maximum depth of 18 m (59 ft) near the center.

It is the natural drainage of River Cote.

The average water temperature ranges between 21.9 and 27.9 °C (71 and 82 °F).

Uses

The lake is used for tourism, subsistence fishing, hydropower electricity generation, and as a conservation area. It is regarded as a sacred place by the local Maleku people.

Cote UFO

Cote UFO, 1971

On 4 September 1971, during an aerial survey by the National Geographic Institute of Costa Rica, what looks like a UFO was photographed over Lake Cote (see photo). Some believe the photograph only depicts the wake of a boat.

The Cote Photo, a documentary film directed by Adam Pillon and produced by Megan Woomer, investigates the 1971 photograph. The film was released on September 4, 2026, the 55th anniversary of the photograph.

References

  1. ↑ Haberyan, Kurt A.; Horn, Sally P.; Umaña V., Gerardo (March 2003). "Basic limnology of fifty-one lakes in Costa Rica". Revista de Biología Tropical. 51 (1): 107–122. PMID 15162686. Gale A120392501.
  2. ↑ Umaña, Gerardo (5 July 2014). "Ten years of limnological monitoring of a modified natural lake in the tropics: Cote Lake, Costa Rica". Revista de Biología Tropical. 62 (2): 567–578. doi:10.15517/rbt.v62i2.8446. PMID 25102640.
  3. 1 2 Chaves, Gerardo (2 February 1997). "Cóter: Paraíso lacustre". Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Lake Arenal Dam". Arenal.net. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Lewis-Krau, Gideon (30 April 2021). "How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously". The New Yorker. The New Yorker. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "COSTA RICA UFO". The Black Files. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  7. ↑ Zúñiga, Alejandro. "The mysterious Costa Rican UFO". www.crcdaily.com. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  8. ↑ Jiménez, Fátima (4 September 2026). "Documental que se estrena en Apple TV revive uno de los grandes misterios de Costa Rica: la foto del Lago Cote" [Documentary premiering on Apple TV revives one of Costa Rica's great mysteries: the Lake Cote photo]. La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2026.