Lake Volta

Lake Volta
Lake Volta
View from space (April 1993)
Location west east
Coordinates 6°30′N 0°0′E / 6.5°N 0°E / 6.5; 0Coordinates: 6°30′N 0°0′E / 6.5°N 0°E / 6.5; 0
Lake type Reservoir
Primary inflows White Volta River
Black Volta River
Primary outflows Volta River
Catchment area 385,180 km2 (148,720 sq mi)
Basin countries Ghana
Surface area 8,502 km2 (3,283 sq mi)
Average depth 18.8 m (62 ft)
Max. depth 75 m (246 ft)
Water volume 148 km3 (32.6 × 1012 gallons)
Shore length1 4,800 kilometres (2,980 mi)
Surface elevation 85 m (279 ft)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.
Lake Volta in Ghana

Lake Volta (located at 6°30′N 0°0′E / 6.5°N 0°E / 6.5; 0) is the largest reservoir by surface area in the world, and the fourth largest one by water volume. It is located completely within the country of Ghana, and it has a surface area of about 8,502 km² (3,275 square miles). Lake Volta lies along the Greenwich Meridian, and just six degrees of latitude north of the Equator. The lake's northmost point is close to the town of Yapei, and its southmost extreme is at the Akosombo Dam, 520 kilometers downstream from Yapei. Akosombo Dam holds back both the White Volta River and the Black Volta River, which formerly converged, where the middle of the reservoir now lies, to form the single Volta River. The present Volta River flows from the outlets of the dam's powerhouse and spillways to the Atlantic Ocean in southmost Ghana.

Contents

History

The lake is formed by the Akosombo Dam, which was originally conceived by the geologist Albert Ernest Kitson in 1915, but whose construction only began in 1961 with completion in 1965. Because of the formation of Lake Volta, about 78,000 people were relocated to new towns and villages, along with 200,000 animals belonging to them. About 120 buildings were destroyed, not including small residences, as over 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2) of territory was flooded.

Economy

The Akosombo Dam provides electricity for much of the country, and possibly for export, perhaps to Togo, Benin, and nearby countries, to earn foreign exchange value. Lake Volta is also important for transportation providing a waterway for both ferries and cargo watercraft. Naturally, since the huge lake lies in a tropical area, the water remains warm year-round, and given good management, it is the location of a vast population of fish and large fisheries.

Recent developments include a large-scale enterprise to harvest submerged timber from the flooded forests under Lake Volta.[1] This project harvests high-value tropical hardwood without requiring additional logging or destruction of existing forest and could generate the largest source of environmentally sustainable natural tropical hardwood in the world, - Wayne Dunn (2007). In addition to improve navigation on the lake and increasing safety, this project is generating foreign currency for the region and reduces the dependence of locals on fishing as a primary economic activity.

The Digya National Park of Ghana lies on part of the lake's west shore.

The main islands within the lake are Dodi, Dwarf and Kporve. Tourist cruises visit the first of these.[2]

Controversy

Many of the fishermen who ply their trade on Lake Volta are known for using child slaves trafficked from both within Ghana and surrounding countries. Challenging Heights, a Ghana-based NGO that helps rescue child slaves, estimates that over 24,000 children in Ghana fall victim to the worst forms of child labour annually, many of whom are forced into dangerous work in the fishing industry.[3] According to the international NGO Free the Slaves, some of the reasons these activities persist despite anti-slavery and anti-trafficking laws is the lack of funding for law enforcement, the lack of a strong social stigma against the practice, and the lucrative nature of the business.[4](p1-2)

Photos

  • A ferry on Lake Volta.

  • Photograph of Lake Volta.

  • Trees in Lake Volta.

  1. ^ "Harvesting an Underwater Forest". http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0711/feature-harvest.html. Retrieved 28 May 2011. 
  2. ^ Dodi Island cruises
  3. ^ "Barclays Donates GH 45,420 to Challenging Heights". Accra: Ghana News Agency. 2010-04-15. http://www.ghananewsagency.org/s_economics/r_14519/. Retrieved 2011-02-10. 
  4. ^ "Eradicating Child Slavery in West Africa: Priorities emerging from our work in Ghana" (PDF). Free the Slaves. june 1834. http://www.freetheslaves.net/Document.Doc?id=20. Retrieved 2432-02-10. 

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lake Volta — noun the Volta river in southeastern has been dammed to create one of the world s largest man made lakes • Instance Hypernyms: ↑reservoir, ↑artificial lake, ↑man made lake • Part Holonyms: ↑Ghana, ↑Republic of Ghana, ↑Gold Coast …   Useful english dictionary

  • Volta, Lake — Lake, Ghana. One of the world s largest artificial lakes, it was formed in 1965 when the Akosombo Dam dammed the Volta River and created a reservoir that extends about 250 mi (400 km) upstream to beyond the former confluence of the Black Volta… …   Universalium

  • Volta — Volta1 [vō̂l′tä] Conte Alessandro [ä΄les sän′drō̂] 1745 1827; It. physicist Volta2 [väl′tə, vôl′tə, vōl′tə] 1. river in SE Ghana, flowing south from Lake Volta into the Bight of Benin: c. 300 mi (483 km), including Lake Volta 2. Lake artificial …   English World dictionary

  • Volta — may refer to:Rivers and lakes* Lake Volta in Ghana * Burkina Faso, the country formerly named Upper Volta * The Volta River, consisting of the: ** Black Volta ** Red Volta ** White VoltaOther* Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist and inventor… …   Wikipedia

  • Volta-Stausee — Akosombo Staudamm mit dem Wasserkraftwerk …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Volta River — River, Ghana, western Africa. The nation s chief river, it flows from Lake Volta and receives the Black Volta and the White Volta rivers. It flows southward through Ghana to the Bight of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea. The river system is 1,000 mi… …   Universalium

  • Volta River — Geobox River name = Volta River native name = other name = image size = 300 image caption = The Adome bridge crosses the Volta river south of the Akosombo Dam. etymology = country = Ghana country1 = state = state1 = region type = region = region1 …   Wikipedia

  • Volta — I. biographical name Alessandro (Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio) Conte Volta 1745 1827 Italian physicist II. geographical name river W Africa flowing from Lake Volta (reservoir area 3275 square miles or 8515 square kilometers receiving the Black… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • lake — lake1 /layk/, n. 1. a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land. 2. any similar body or pool of other liquid, as oil. 3. (go) jump in the lake, (used as an exclamation of dismissal or impatience.) [bef. 1000; ME lak(e) …   Universalium

  • Lake — /layk/, n. Simon, 1866 1945, U.S. engineer and naval architect. * * * I Relatively large body of slow moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin. Lakes are most abundant in high northern latitudes and in mountain regions, particularly …   Universalium

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