MAR CHIQUITA, LAKE

Spanish Laguna Mar Chiquita, saline lake at the southern edge of the Gran Chaco in northeastern Crdoba provincia, north-central Argentina. It is about 45 miles (70 km) long and 15 miles (24 km) wide with an area of almost 775 square miles (2,000 square km). Lake Mar Chiquita is fed by the rivers Primero and Segundo (from the southwest) and Dulce (from the north) during the flood season but has no outlet to the east. Several small islands, the largest of which is El Mdano, lie in the lake. On the southern shore is the health resort of Miramar. To the north are vast expanses of saline marshes.