This lake is situated on a high continental plain at an altitude of almost 1,000 m.[2] It lies in a 53,600 ha natural basin known as El Campo de Bello, encircled by the Iberian System mountain ranges of Sierra de Santa Cruz and Sierra de Pardos in the north, Sierra Menera in the south and Sierra del Caldereros in the east.

It is an intermittent rain-fed lake, largely dependent on abundant autumnal and spring rains if it is to maintain a sizeable amount of water into the hot summer months.

During the summer of 1969 drought the lake dried completely, leaving a crust of salt.

[4] The Laguna de Gallocanta remains one of the most important stopover sites for this species in Europe,[5] being able to give shelter to an average population of 30,000 birds at one time between December and February.

In 1994 Gallocanta Lake was declared a Ramsar site, protecting an area of 6,720 ha as a wetland of international importance.