Lake Tana: geographical location, origin of the basin, historical and natural monuments

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

The continent, famous for its deserts and ancient history, boasts quite large bodies of water. Standing on their shores, it is often difficult to imagine that there are thousands of square kilometers of waterless lands around. And most of all, Lake Tana strikes the imagination - a water surface that seems boundless and teeming with the most diverse life.

Geographic location of the lake

It is the largest water reservoir in Ethiopia. In addition, in addition to the well-established name, Lake Tana on the map of Africa can sometimes be found as Tsana (a variant of writing and reading the Latin alphabet) or Dembea, similar to the name of the country that adjoins the northern shore. More or less exact coordinates are 11°35'-12°16' s. sh. and 34°39'-35°20'E. e. Why not absolutely accurate? Because in the rainy season, Lake Tana occupies a larger area than in the dry season. It absorbs the waters of many different arteries - from fairly large rivers, the largestof which Abbay, to almost imperceptible streams. But only one river flows out of it - Bar-el-Azrek, also called the Blue Nile. Lake Tana is replete with islets of various sizes, but always small; the total area of isolated land is about 50 square kilometers, which, against the backdrop of at least 3,000 (during the dry season) square kilometers of water, seems like a trifle.

Potential of Lake Tana

I must say that it was not in vain that several countries once claimed sole ownership of this huge body of water. According to rough calculations, the installation of power plants on it could provide electricity to the whole of Africa - about 60 billion kWh would be enough for the entire continent. But at the moment there is only one such station, and there are some complaints about it: the construction has significantly reduced the flow in the waterfall with the romantic name Tis-Isat - "Smoke of Fire".

Lake Tana in Africa abounds in fish, shellfish and crabs. Their prey is one of the main sources of food for local residents. There are also a lot of birds here, which settle along the banks and on the islets. An additional bonus is the absence of crocodiles in the waters of the lake, which are simply teeming with all the rivers flowing into Tana. Although there are plenty of hippos here, but if they are not touched, they peacefully coexist with people.

In recent years, Lake Tana is increasingly gaining popularity among tourists. They are attracted by local beauty, historical monuments, and religious shrines.

Religiousvalues

As already mentioned, Lake Tana is strewn with small islands. There are 37 of them in total. Temples, churches and monasteries are built on more than half of them. Priceless ancient manuscripts and handwritten Bibles are stored in their vaults, many walls are painted with unique frescoes, ancient Coptic crosses have been preserved, and in the monastery they are allowed to look at the mummies of kings. The most mysterious monastery is located on the island of Tana-Kirkos. It is almost impossible to get there, although many believers would willingly kneel in the monastery. According to legend, it was here that the priests hid the Ark of the Covenant from desecration for eight centuries. However, those who wish can visit the monasteries of Ura Kidane Mehret (Zege Peninsula), Narga Selassie (Dec), Jesus Monastery.

Natural and historical monuments

In addition to the already mentioned waterfall, Lake Tana in Africa can also boast of the fact that not far from it is the highest Ethiopian peak, Ras Dashen. Temples were also located on it since ancient times, but it is more known for its picturesqueness. The waterfalls are still worth seeing, although they are no longer as impressive as they were before the construction of the station. But there, from the 17th century, a stone bridge built by the Portuguese has been preserved. From the point of view of architecture, the city of Gondar, located near the lake, is very curious: you will probably not see such a number of castles anywhere else. And the Fasil-Gebbi fortress strikes the imagination of even many travelers who have seen it. And it’s worth, of course, swimming with local fishermen in the morning: a combination of wonderful views andthe exotic appearance of the "gondolier" (they still use national attire, and by no means to attract tourists) will probably be remembered for a lifetime.

How the lake formed

All large African reservoirs got their "bed" as a result of the rift fault. Because of this, they differ in considerable depth. A completely different matter is Lake Tana, the origin of the basin of which is dammed. That is, as a result of a tectonic trough in time immemorial, a long and wide valley was formed. Small rivers flowed along its bottom. And as a result of the volcanic eruption and the earthquake associated with it, the drains were clogged. The way out of the "trap" was found (or punched for itself) only by the Blue Nile. That is why even in the deepest place and during floods, Lake Tana barely reaches a depth of 14 meters, and in the dry months it does not go deeper than 10.