Lago Titicaca (Peruvian sector). 20/01/97; Puno; 460,000 ha; 15°50'S 069°30W. Lake Titicaca, in the Central Andes, is the world's highest navigable freshwater lake, at 3810 m above sea level, shared between Peru and Bolivia. The wetland is a permanent freshwater lake, with associated marshes and extensive areas of emergent aquatic vegetation. There are a number of endemic fish species present and the site is extremely important for migratory shorebirds and Andean waterbirds, including three species of flamingo. Algae and submergent and floating vegetation is abundant, and the dominant emergent species is the "totora" Schoenoplectus tatora, which can reach up to seven meters. When the "totora" drifts away from the shore, it forms islands which are used by some members of the Uro community to live on. Most of them are fishermen and hunters, but they also make crafts to sell. Whilst subsistence fishing is the main use of the lake by the local communities, the surrounding areas are used for agriculture. Ramsar site no. 881. Most recent RIS information: 1996.