"Geography
This lake is dominated by the high silhouette of the Licancabúr volcano, an Andean stratovolcano, located on the border between Bolivia and Chile.
It is located at a (fluctuating) altitude of approximately 4,325 m, and has an area of 7.5 km2 and a maximum depth of 5.5 m.
The green color of the water in Laguna Verde Lake comes from a high concentration of copper in its sediments. Its water also contains other minerals such as magnesium and arsenic. The bottom of the lake is lined with white stromatolites. This color of the lake varies from a shimmering turquoise blue to an emerald green, depending on the disturbances caused by the winds on the sediments of the lake.
Lake Laguna Verde is separated by a thin strip of land from Laguna Blanca to the east, and a small stream allows Laguna Blanca to flow into Laguna Verde. The two lakes were formed around 13,000 years ago, but formed one large lake during the last ice age. They are at the southwestern end of the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and Bolivia itself.
Climate
Lake Laguna Verde is frozen in winter and, despite very hostile conditions (intense UV radiation, low atmospheric pressure, negative temperature), it is home to extremophile plankton fauna, including diatoms. This environment is undoubtedly very close to that which reigned on Mars, when water was present on the surface of the planet, hence the interest shown in this lake by the scientific community.
Freezing winds are a common occurrence here and the waters of the lakes can reach temperatures of up to -56°C, but due to their chemical composition, they still remain in a liquid state. The lake is located at a distance of 30 km from Cerro Polques, where the water is at 30°C.
International issues
Since July 13, 2009, Lake Lagune Verde has been included in the Ramsar Convention under the name of Los Lípez. An area of 1,427,717 ha that includes an Andean complex of endorheic high salt flats, hypersaline and brackish lakes, and geothermal wetlands."