Lake Asal in Djibouti is the lowest point on the African continent and the most salinous lake in the world
In Djibouti, East Africa, there is a mysterious and beautiful lake, which is called "Lake Assal". The lake is considered the lowest point on the African continent and even more amazing is that it has one of the highest salinity lakes in the world.
Lake Assal – the lowest point on the African continent
Lake Assal is the lowest point on the African continent and is located on the border of Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia. With a water surface elevation of 155 meters, this lake is the lowest on the African continent and the second lowest in the world, after the Dead Sea.
The lake was formed by a rift valley formed by the split of the Southern African Plate and the Arabian Plate, and has always been an important geographical location because it has been an area through which trade routes between Africa and Asia have passed since ancient times. The surroundings of Lake Asal are barren but beautiful, which attracts many explorers and tourists to explore and travel.
There are creatures that have adapted to the environment of Lake Assal, such as swamp rhinos and salt birds. These creatures can survive in toxic water sources and places that absorb large amounts of salt, which makes Lake Asal a popular wildlife sightseeing area.
The environment around Lake Asal is now under great threat. The water level in the lake is dropping dramatically, and this is caused by the growing demand for water and excessive consumption of water.
Lake Asal is the main source of water for the local population. A large number of people depend on the lake for the water they need, but this has led to severe water shortages in the lake. The problem also exacerbates the wider lack of food, health, education and livelihoods in local communities. This can also lead to serious environmental problems such as land degradation and lack of diversity of plant and animal species.
Lake Asal – the most salinous lake in the world
Lake Azal is a large salt lake located in northeast Africa, it is known as the highest salinity lake in the world, and it is also the largest inland salt lake in Africa. Located at the confluence of Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan, the lake covers an area of about 9,500 square kilometers and is hidden deep in the earth, where the people living here are almost cut off from the outside world.
Lake Asal is more than 20 times salinity than other lakes, due to the fact that it receives water mainly from nearby volcanic eruptions and rainfall. These sources of water tend to transfer minerals and salts, which gradually accumulate in the lake water to eventually form this ultra-high salinity. In the water of Lake Assal, about 2/3 of the mass is salinity, which is much higher than the salinity level of seawater.
This lake, because it is full of salt, is unsuitable for living things. But in some areas with moderate salinity, it is still possible for organisms to survive. One of the most interesting is the flamingos of Lake Assal. The birds search for food from the surrounding rivers before washing them in the shallows near the shore. In the process, the flamingo's feathers are dyed with the red minerals of the lake, which makes them look even more colorful.
With the exception of flamingos, there are very few biological species in Lake Asal, and only a few secretion-tolerant bacteria and chemicals can breed and survive in a high salinity environment. Under natural conditions, this environment has attracted the attention of many scientists and tourists because of its extreme nature and oligolife, which is a great challenge to ecological protection and environmental governance, especially when local people engage in salt mining due to lack of economic opportunities, and the ecological environment of the lake area may further deteriorate.
Before the gradual retreat of the lake, which was extremely disproportionate to the amount of salt available to the human body, Lake Asal was called "evergreen lake", which means "salty lake" in the local language. However, with the irreversible interference of natural and man-made factors, the water level of the lake is rapidly decreasing, which will have a great negative impact on the local residents, water creatures and the regional economy.
The ecosystem of Lake Assal
Lake Asal is Africa's largest lake located on the southeastern edge of the Sahara Desert. It is a large saltwater lake on the Red Sea coast whose ecosystem is extensively studied and protected.
The water body of Lake Asal contains a large amount of sodium, magnesium, calcium and other minerals, and the very rich nutrients make the lake ecosystem unique. About 85% of the active flow into the lake is a permanent river in the desert, while the rest is a temporary flood that occurs during a temporary period of time. This source of fresh water gradually reduces the salinity of the lake. Such high salinity and nutrient content make the lake a unique habitat.
The ecosystem around Lake Asal is very diverse. The area is a haven for many birds, with more than 50 endemic species and hundreds of migratory birds that migrate to the area each year. These migratory birds breed and hatch by the lake every year, and then bring back the chicks on the migration route, making Lake Asal a very important stopover on the migration road. There are also a variety of unique animals such as loach fish, small ants and more.
The ecosystem of Lake Asal faces a range of threats. The first is overgrazing and over-exploitation of saltwater lake salt, which has led to increasing desertification of the surrounding land, seriously affecting the local ecological environment. Secondly, Lake Assal itself is over-extracted, especially for irrigation of farmland and water for citizens, and the lake's water level continues to fall, causing fish populations to plummet and many birds unable to survive.
The local government and environmental organizations are aware of the importance of the lake and have taken a series of measures to protect it. In order to increase the income of surrounding farmers, the government has established protected areas and encouraged local residents to develop beneficial tourism. Strict restrictions have been imposed on the overexploitation of saltwater lake salt to prevent soil erosion caused by excessive salt mining. In addition, various specialized organizations conduct surveys and monitoring of birds, fish and other animals to ensure that their numbers and species remain stable.
Lake Asal is not only a research hotspot for geographers and scientists, but also attracts many tourists. Although the environment here is extremely harsh, Asal Lake is rich in a large number of microorganisms, which are not only very suitable for the high salinity environment in the lake, but also provide a broad space for research in the fields of human beings, disease treatment, and environmental cleaning.
