Lake Cote

Lake Cote (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 sqkm. Its depth varies between 6 and 18 meters.

Location
Located in Cote district, Guatuso canton, of Alajuela province, between the Arenal Volcano and Tenorio Volcano. Nearby is located the largest lake in Costa Rica, Lake Arenal, of artificial origin.

Physical aspects
It is a crater lake of Maar type with a heart-like ovoid shape and a 1 km diameter. Average depth is of 6.30m and maximum depth is 18m at the center area.

It is the natural drainage of River Cote.

Average water temperature is around 21.9 °C and 27.9 °C.

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
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).