Lake San Agustín
Former lake in New Mexico, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake San Agustín is a former lake in New Mexico, which developed as a pluvial lake in the Plains of San Agustín during Pleistocene glacial periods. During its highstands it covered an area of 1,200 square kilometres (460 sq mi) with a maximum depth of 70 metres (230 ft), and split into several separate lakes while drying out. The lake last appeared during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and dried out at the beginning of the Holocene, with the last remnant disappearing about 5,000 years ago.
The lake may have been an important resource for local Paleoindian people, with many archeological sites such as the Ake site associated with its environments. Presently, the Very Large Array radiotelescopes are located on the basin of the former lake, and core samples taken from its bed have been used to reconstruct the past vegetation of New Mexico.