Lake Maracaibo (Spanish: Lago de Maracaibo) is a large brackish tidal bay (or tidal estuary) in Venezuela. It is an "inlet of the Caribbean Sea". It is often called a lake rather than a bay or lagoon. In the north, a channel 55 km long connects it to the Caribbean Sea.
The lake is named after the city Maracaibo, which lies on the east side of this channel. In Maracaibo, this channel is about 8.5 km wide. General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge spans this channel. It is one of the longest bridges in the world.
The lake has a size of about 160 kilometres (99 mi) by 110 kilometres (68 mi). 135 rivers flow into the lake. The biggest of them is Catatumbo River, which is 500 km long. Others include Escalante River and Chama River.
In the northern part of the lake, there is brackish water. The southern part of the lake is freshwater. There are many islands in the lake.