Lake Abaya

Lake Abaya
Coordinates	6°20′N 37°50′E / 6.333°N 37.833°E / 6.333; 37.833Coordinates: 6°20′N 37°50′E / 6.333°N 37.833°E / 6.333; 37.833
Primary inflows	Bilate River
Basin countries	Ethiopia
Max. length	60 km
Max. width	20 km
Surface area	1162 km²
Average depth	7.1 m
Max. depth	13.1 m
Water volume	8.2 km3 (2.0 cu mi)
Surface elevation	1285 m
Settlements	Arba Minch

Lake Abaya as seen from a Dorze village. On the far right Arba Minch and Lake Chamo can be seen. Between the two lakes is the Nechisar National Park.

For the Muslim garment, see Abaya.

Lake Abaya (Abaya Hayk in Amharic) is a lake in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. It was named Lake Margherita by the Italian explorer Vittorio Bottego, the first European commonly thought to visit the lake, to honor the wife of king Umberto I of Italy, Queen Margherita. This name appears in older publications, and currently is rarely used.

However, the American explorer Arthur Donaldson Smith records that the local inhabitants, who included an eye witness of the event, told him that the Italian explorer Eugene Ruspoli (died 1891) was killed by an elephant near the lake, which happened before Bottego reached Lake Abaya.^[1]

Lake Abaya is located in the Great Rift Valley, east of the Guge Mountains. It is fed on its northern shore by the Bilate which rises on the southern slopes of Mount Gurage, and the Gidabo. The town of Arba Minch lies on its southwestern shore, and the southern shores are part of the Nechisar National Park. Just to the south is Lake Chamo. Lake Abaya is 60 kilometers long and 20 wide,^[2] with a surface area of 1162 square kilometers.^[3] It has a maximum depth of 13.1 meters and is at an elevation of 1285 meters.^[3] There are a number of islands in this lake, the largest being Aruro;^[4] others include Gidicho, Welege, Galmaka, and Alkali. The lake is red due to a high load of suspended sediments^[5]. Lake Abaya does not always have an outflow, but in some years it overflows into Lake Chamo.

Savanna, known for its wildlife and birdlife surrounds the lake, which is also fished by local people. According to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 412 tonnes of fish are landed each year, which the department estimates is 69% of its sustainable amount.^[6]

See also

• Rift Valley lakes

Notes

External links

• ILEC database entry for Lake Abaya

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