Assal Lake, Tadjourah Region, Djiboutii

Regional Level Types
Assal Lake	Lake
Tadjourah Region	Region
Djibouti	Country

Lake Assal (Arabic: بحيرة عسل‎ Buḥayrah ʿAsal, (questionable etymology; more likely “Lake of Salt” creole from French Colonial Period); is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of the Gulf of Tadjoura in the Tadjoura Region, touching the Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some 120 km (75 mi) west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake that lies 155 m (509 ft) below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. No outflow occurs from the lake, and due to high evaporation, the salinity level of its waters is 10 times that of the sea, making it the third most saline body of water in the world behind Don Juan Pond and Gaet'ale Pond. Lake Assal is the world's largest salt reserve, which is exploited under four concessions awarded in 2002 at the southeast end of the lake; the major share of production (nearly 80%) is held by Société d’Exploitation du Lac and Société d’Exploitation du Salt Investment S.A de Djibouti.

The lake is a protected zone under Djibouti's National Environmental Action Plan of 2000. However, the law does not define the boundary limits of the lake. Since the exploitation of the salt from the lake was uncontrolled, the Plan has emphasized the need for managing the exploitation to avoid a negative impact on the lake environment. The Government of Djibouti has initiated a proposal with UNESCO to declare the Lake Assal zone and the Ardoukoba volcano as a World Heritage Site.

Fossils

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Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Assal_(Djibouti)
Wikidata ID:	Q81239
GeoNames ID:	224969

References