| Laguna del Sauce | |
|---|---|
 Laguna del Sauce | |
  Laguna del Sauce | |
| Location | Maldonado Department of Uruguay |
| Coordinates | 34°49′31″S 55°03′37″W / 34.82528°S 55.06028°W |
| Type | lagoon |
| Primary inflows | Arroyo Pan de Azucar |
| Max. length | 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) |
| Max. width | 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) |
| Surface area | 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) |
Laguna del Sauce (Lagoon of the Willow) is a subtropical shallow lake[1] and the largest water body in the Maldonado Department of Uruguay. It is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of Punta del Este. The lake is the only freshwater ecosystem in the country classified for drinking water as its principal use.[1]
Originally a coastal lagoon, the lake was damned for military purposes in 1947.[1] The closed ecosystem makes the lake prone to eutrophication, and has had regular algae blooms—one of which, in 2015, included cyanobacteria that disrupted water supplies.[1]
- ^ a b c d Aznarez, Celina; Jimeno-Sáez, Patricia; López-Ballesteros, Adrián; Pacheco, Juan Pablo; Senent-Aparicio, Javier (January 2021). "Analysing the Impact of Climate Change on Hydrological Ecosystem Services in Laguna del Sauce (Uruguay) Using the SWAT Model and Remote Sensing Data". Remote Sensing. 13 (10): 2014. Bibcode:2021RemS...13.2014A. doi:10.3390/rs13102014. hdl:10810/61404.