Lagoa dos Patos
Brazil · Americas
About
Lagoa dos Patos (Portuguese pronunciation: [laˈɡoɐ dus ˈpatus]; English: Ducks' Lagoon) is a coastal lagoon located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It covers an area of 10,100 km2 (3,900 mi2), is 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and has a maximum width of 71 kilometres (44 mi).
It is the largest choked coastal lagoon in the world,
the largest coastal lagoon in South America, and the largest lagoon in Brazil.
Lagoa dos Patos is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a sandbar about 8.0 kilometres (5 mi) wide. The Jacuí-Guaíba and Camaquã Rivers empty into it, while the navigable São Gonçalo Channel, which enters Lagoa dos Patos near the town of Pelotas, connects Lagoa dos Patos to Lagoa Mirim to the south. The Rio Grande, at the south end of Lagoa dos Patos, forms the outlet to the Atlantic.
This lagoon is evidently the remains of an ancient depression in the coastline shut in by sand bars built up by the combined action of wind and current. The shallow lagoon is located at sea level and its waters are affected by the tides, normally they are brackish only a short distance above the Rio Grande outlet, but this can vary a lot. In droughts and favorable winds, sea water can be carried up to almost the entire lagoon.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.