Laguna de Sayula
Laguna de Sayula is a large salty lake in southern Jalisco, Mexico, about 60 kilometers from Guadalajara. It sits in the Sayula, Zacoalco de Torres, Amacueca, Teocuitatlán de Corona, Atoyac, and Techaluta de Montenegro municipalities, in the Zacoalco-Guzmán water system between the Tapalpa and Mazamitla mountains.
The lake covers about 168 square kilometers, is up to 31 kilometers long and up to 8.3 kilometers wide, and sits at an elevation of about 1,350 meters. It has two small islands, Isla Chica and Isla Grande, and a coastline around 90 kilometers long. The average depth is about 2 meters, with a maximum depth around 8.3 meters.
Water mainly flows into the lake from local rivers and springs and leaves mostly by evaporation, since the lake has no outlet to the sea. Since 1993 the water level has been dropping, but the lake still supports many kinds of wildlife.
Laguna de Sayula is a Ramsar wetland, a designation given on February 2, 2004, because it is an important habitat for birds. Because the lake is salty, nearby plants are often salt-tolerant. The surrounding vegetation includes tropical deciduous forest at higher hills and around the lake. The area hosts diverse wildlife, especially birds in winter, such as Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), various shorebirds, as well as turtles, eagles, and hawks.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:59 (CET).