lakes of Ounianga, Sahara Desert

The Ponds of Ounianga involve 18 lakes located in the heart of the Sahara Wasteland, in an extremely dry area of north Chad where the normal annually rain fall is no more than 2 mm. They rely on an subterranean supply of ‘fossil’ water that dropped on this place in olden days when the Saharan atmosphere was much wetter than it is these days. Roughly 14,800 to 5,500 years ago the place was filled by a single huge pond, probably hundreds of miles long. As the surroundings dry during the following thousands of years, the river shrank, and huge, wind-driven sand mountains penetrated the unique depressive disorders, splitting it into several small sinks. The 18 lakes is all that continues to be these days.

The lakes are located in a superficial container below sandstone coves and mountains, from where the historical water moves. The almost-year-round northeast gusts of wind and cloudless air make for very great water loss rates. But the subterranean bed of water-rich stones are huge enough to keep providing the small lakes with water despite the great water loss rate. Extremely, this unique hydrological system is able to maintain the biggest lasting water lakes to be discovered in such an dry desert atmosphere anywhere in the world.

A NASA picture taken on Nov 14, 2009, by the team of the ISS.

The lakes are separated into two categories, 40km apart. They differ significantly in substance structure, some being so high sodium that they can only support the most basic types of lifestyle, while others are clean enough to provide atmosphere for marine vegetation, fish and a variety of other types. The biggest and most naturally important pond (Lake Teli, in the southern team known as Ounianga Serir) has a place of 4.4km2 and a highest possible level of 10 m.

Its water is clean, and facilitates an large quantity of lifestyle. The exotic substrate is highly permeable, so water moves easily subterranean between Lake Teli and 13 other small lakes in the southern team.

Further western, across the mountains and sandstone side that characterise this part of the Sahara, the second list of four lakes (known as Ounianga Kebir) is discovered, covered with Lake Yoan (3.6 km2 and 27 m deep). This is a super saline pond which facilitates only plankton and a few other micro-organisms. Rocks around its shoreline are emblazoned in white sodium continues to be, and a expansive town of some 9,000 people is propagate amongst the encompassing mountains and mountains.

The lakes of Ounianga form as remarkable natural scenery of great beauty with stunning colors and types. Because of its distant location, only a outflow of courageous visitors (about 500 annually) discovers its way to this distant area of Chad.