Lake Assal (Djibouti)

Infobox lake
lake_name = Lake Assal
image_lake = Lake Assal NASA.jpg
caption_lake =
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = Afar Depression
coords = coord|11|39|N|42|25|E|type:waterbody_region:DJ|display=inline,title
type = crater lake
inflow = subsurface from the ocean
outflow = none
catchment = 900 km²
basin_countries = Djibouti
length = 10 km
width = 7 km
area = 54 km²
depth = 7.4 m
max-depth = > 20 m
volume = 400 million m³
residence_time =
shore =
elevation = -153 m (-502 ft)
(below sea level)
islands =
cities = Randa (25 km northeast)

Lake Assal ( _fr. Lac Assal) is a crater lake in central Djibouti, located at the southern border of Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, some 120 km west of Djibouti city. It lies 155 m (515 ft) below sea level in the Afar Depression and its shores comprise the lowest point on land in Africa. It measures 19 by 7 km and has an area of 54 km². The maximum depth is 40 m, whereas the mean depth is 7.4 m, which makes for a water volume of 400 million m³. The catchment area measures 900 km², and there is just a residual runoff of fresh water into the lake.

Lake Assal is the most saline body of water on earth, with 34.8% percent salt concentration (up to 40% at 20 m depth), compared to an average of 3.5 percent in the world's oceans. The sources of the lake are hot springs whose salinity is close to sea water, which are fed by the Gulf of Tadjoura ( _fr. Golfe de Tadjoura), the eastern extension of the Gulf of Aden, specifically the nearly closed-off bay "Ghoubet Kharab", about 10 km southeast of the lake.

The area is wild and desert-like, and no fauna or flora can be seen in the syrupy waters of the lake. The high temperatureof the water (33-34 °C) favors evaporation, and it is surrounded by a salt pan (extending west and mainly northwest). The salt is mined and transported by caravan to Ethiopia.

Source

* [http://aem.asm.org/cgi/reprint/27/5/819.pdf Microbiological Study of a Hypersaline Lake in French Somaliland]