Satellite image of the Lagoa dos Patos
Two large tidal lagoons interconnect in this southeast-looking, low-oblique photograph of the coastal state of Rio Grande do Sul in southernmost Brazil. Aligned northeast to southwest along the coast, Lagoa dos Patos and Lagoa Mirim, respectively, are separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a sandbar of varying widths. Lagoa dos Patos, with pronounced sediment plumes, stretches 150 miles (250 kilometers) from its northernmost point near Pôrto Alegre to its southernmost boundary near the port city of Rio Grande. Drainage from pastureland and rice fields, increasing population, and increased effluents from industrial development have degraded the water quality and created concern for the fragile ecosystem. Lagoa dos Patos, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil January 1990.
