Laguna de Gallocanta

Historia

The Gallocanta Lake is an endorheic lake located just to the south of Gallocanta village, between the Aragonese comarcas of Campo de Daroca and Comarca del Jiloca, Aragon, Spain. This lake is situated on a high continental plain at an altitude of almost 1,000 m.It lies in a 53,600 ha natural basin known as El Campo de Bello, encircled by the Iberian System mountain ranges of Sierra de Santa Cruz and Sierra de Pardos in the north, Sierra Menera in the south and Sierra del Caldereros in the east. It is an intermittent rain-fed lake, largely dependent on abundant autumnal and spring rains if it is to maintain a sizeable amount of water into the hot summer months. During the summer of 1969 drought the lake dried completely, leaving a crust of salt and remaining dry for a long spell.EcologyThe Laguna de Gallocanta is one of the most important stopover sites for migrating common cranes in Spain, being able to give shelter to an average population of 20,000 birds at one time. The lake also holds a wide array of wetland birds when its water level permits, while its shores are visited by steppeland birds and raptors.