Location: 16 km (10 mi) South- East of Antigua, Sololá Department Map
Surface area: 130.1 km2 (50.2 sq mi)
Depth: 340 m (1,120 ft)
Lake Atitlan is situated 16 km (10 mi) South- East of Antigua, Sololá Department in Guatemala. Lake Atitlan covers a surface area of 130.1 km2 (50.2 sq mi). Beautiful Lake Atitlan is pitched on the Western highlands of Guatemala just two hour drive from the capital. It is surrounded by several few quiet town and three majestic peaks of active volcanoes San Pedro, Toliman and Atitlan. Lake Atitlan itself is of volcanic origin. Lake Atitlan gets its name from a local Mayan dialect and can be translated as "near a water". Shores of Lake Atitlan is dotted by several small Mayan fishing and agricultural villages. One of the most popular towns is Panajachel. It is one of the main economic sources of the department, as well as being a very attractive tourist center, it serves a lot of commercial support. The volcanoes of Atitlán (3537 meters above sea level), Tolimán (3158 meters above sea level) and San Pedro volcano (3020 meters above sea level) stand on the banks of the lake. Atitlan lake is located at 1560 meters above sea level and is 18 km long.
Place names
The meaning of the word "Atitlán"
derives etymologically from Nahuatl, it is an agglutinated toponym
that is structured in the following way: Atl means "Water", Titlan
means "between". The word Atl ("water") loses its ending "tl" to
join with the word titlan ("between"), therefore, the word "Atitlán"
is translated as "Between waters".
Origin
Regarding the
origin of Lake Atitlán, there are two currents of opinion. One of
them thinks that the lake is an old dead crater and the other that
the emergence of the volcanoes interrupted the course of the three
rivers that come from the north, which, when gathering their waters
in the place, gave origin to the lake. The lake has no visible
drainage. In addition, it is said that where the lake is located
there was an island that was the epicenter of Mayan activity in the
Pre-Classic period (600 BC - 250 AD), in a settlement called
Pajaibal, since in that the Mayans were grouped in regions.
Several towns that surround the lake have names of saints: Santa
Catarina Palopó, San Antonio Palopó, San Lucas Tolimán, Santiago
Atitlán, San Pedro La Laguna, San Juan La Laguna, San Pablo La
Laguna, San Marcos La Laguna, Santa Cruz La Laguna , San Francisco
Panajachel or Panajachel, Santa Clara La Laguna and others. To these
towns you can travel from boats that are on the shore of the lake.