Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara
Large lake into horizon center and left, forested cliffs to right, forest in foreground.
Overlook of Lake Manyara National Park.
Located in Northern Tanzania.
Located in Northern Tanzania.
Lake Manyara
LocationMonduli District, Arusha Region, Tanzania
Coordinates3°35′S 35°50′E / 3.583°S 35.833°E / -3.583; 35.833
Lake typeSaline, alkaline, endorheic
Primary inflowsSimba River (from the north), Makayuni River (from the east)
Max. length40 km (25 mi) max
Max. width15 km (9.3 mi) max
Surface area181.5 sq mi (470 km2)[1]
Max. depth3.7 m (12 ft)
Surface elevation1,045 m (3,428 ft)
Lake Manyara, the shores and cliff after dusk.
Lake Manyara, the cliff after the sunset.

Lake Manyara also known as Lake Moya among the Iraqw people is a lake located in Monduli District of Arusha Region, Tanzania and is the seventh-largest lake of Tanzania by surface area, at 470-square-kilometre (180 sq mi).[1] It is a shallow, alkaline lake in the Natron-Manyara-Balangida branch of the East African Rift.[2] The northwest quadrant of the lake (about 200 sq, km.) [3] is included within Lake Manyara National Park and it is part of the Lake Manyara Biosphere Reserve, established in 1981 by UNESCO as part of its Man and the Biosphere Programme.[4]

There are differing explanations for how Lake Manyara got its name. The name Manyara may come from the Maasai word "emanyara", which is the spiky, protective enclosure around a family homestead (boma). Possibly the 600 m high rift escarpment hems in the lake, like the enclosure around a Maasai boma.[5] Another theory is that the Mbugwe tribe, who live in the Lake Manyara area, may have given the lake its name based on the Mbugwe word manyero, meaning a trough or place where animals drink water.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Source book for the inland fisheries of Africa vol. 1". FAO.
  2. ^ Foster, A. and C. Ebinger and E. Mbede and D. Rex (August 1997). "Tectonic development of the northern Tanzanian sector of the East African Rift System". Journal of the Geological Society. 154 (4): 689–700. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.154.4.0689. S2CID 128697181.
  3. ^ "Lake Manyara National Park — - Tanzania Tourism". Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  4. ^ "Lake Manyara". UNESCO. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Tanzania, Lake Manyara National Park".
  6. ^ "Maana ya Manyara".