Lake Atitlán (Spanish: Lago de Atitlán, [atiˈtlan]) is a lake in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre mountain range. It is in the Sololá Department of southwestern Guatemala. It is the deepest lake in Central America. Atitlán means "between the waters." In the Nahuatl language, "atl" is the word for water, and "titlan" means between. Lake Atitlán has a maximum depth of about 340 meters (1,120 ft) with an average depth of 220 meters (720 ft). Its surface area is 130.1 km2 (50.2 sq mi). It is approximately 18 by 8 km with around 20 km3 of water. Atitlán is technically an endorheic lake, feeding into two nearby rivers rather than draining into the ocean. It is shaped by deep surrounding escarpments and three volcanoes on its southern flank. The lake basin is volcanic in origin, filling an enormous caldera formed by an eruption 84,000 years ago. The culture of the towns and villages surrounding Lake Atitlán is influenced by the Maya people.