HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF FLUCTUATIONS IN THE LEVEL OF LAKE PATZCUARO, MICHOACAN, MEXICO OVER THE LAST 600 YEARS

A variety of historical sources have been used to determine fluctuations in the level of Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. These changes closely reflect variations in precipitation and evaporation and provide a record of climatic change in central Mexico over the last 600 years. The period 1380 to 1520 was characterized by rising lake levels associated with wetter climatic conditions. A shift to drier conditions during the post-Conquest period resulted in a drop in lake level, with two very low stands in the mid-1800s and the 1940s. This record adds to and supports other historical information which suggests that central Mexico has experienced brief, yet significant, climatic fluctuations during historical times.