ENVIRONMENTAL SNAPSHOT
Swimming is not recommended. The lake draws its water from
the Lerma River, whose source is the Toluca Volcano. The river
flows through such cities as Querétaro and Leon en route to
the Pacific. Industrial dumping is the chief problem. The namesake
Chapala whitefish disappeared long ago. Efforts are underway
to clean up the lake, spearheaded mostly by the residents, both
Mexicans and some 30,000 U.S. and Canadian expatriates.
The Huichol Indians consider the lake sacred and conduct religious
ceremonies here several times a year. When the water level is
low, ancient pots and ceramic fragments, relics of rituals performed
decades or even hundreds of years ago, are found in the mud.
TOURIST TOWNS
The shoreline villages of Chapala, Jocotepec, and Ajijic have
attracted a number of U.S. and Canadian migrants.
Ajijic has been an art colony since the turn of the century.
This is the area where D.H. Lawrence wrote The Plumed Serpent
in 1926. Read his descriptions of the countryside around "Lake
Sayula" based on Lake Chapala.
WEATHER
The region enjoys spring like weather year-round. There is
virtually no humidity here and overcast days are few and far
between.
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