Dominican lake shows surprising expansion

Dominican Republic

Lake Enriquillo, the largest lake in the Caribbean, was shrinking so rapidly in the early 2000s that many feared it would disappear entirely. But less than a decade later, the lake’s surface area has more than doubled, prompting Dominican officials and residents to worry about how much larger it will get. Located in the southwest Dominican Republic a few miles from the Haitian border, the lake has grown from around 164 square kilometers (63 sq miles) in 2004 to around 350 square kilometers (135 sq miles) last year. Along the way, it has swallowed farmland, displaced residents and spawned explanations ranging from best guesses to wild speculation. Dominicans blame the 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of Haiti. The temblor, they say, shifted a plate, allowing... [Log in to read more]

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