Lake Abbe

{{Short description|Lake on the border of Djibouti and Ethiopia}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Lake Abbe | image = Lake Abbe Map.png | caption = | alt = A map showing the lake's location in Africa | location = [[Ethiopia]]–[[Djibouti]] border | coords = {{coord|11|10|N|41|47|E|type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} | type = [[Salt lake]] | inflow = [[Awash River]] | outflow = ''None'' | catchment = | basin_countries = Djibouti, Ethiopia | length = {{convert|17|km|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|19|km|mi|abbr=on}} | area = {{convert|320|km2|abbr=on}} | depth = {{convert|8.6 |m|ft}} | max-depth = {{convert|37|m|ft}} | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = {{convert|243|m|ft}} | islands = | cities =  | pushpin_map = Djibouti | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Abbe in Djibouti. | pushpin_map_caption =  | website = | reference = }}

'''Lake Abbe''', also known as '''Lake Abhe Bad''', is a [[salt lake (geography)|salt lake]], lying on the [[Ethiopia]]-[[Djibouti]] border. It is one of a chain of six connected lakes, which also includes (from north to south) lakes [[Lake Gargori|Gargori]], [[Lake Laitali|Laitali]], [[Lake Gummare|Gummare]], [[Lake Bario|Bario]] and [[Lake Afambo|Afambo]]. The lake is the ultimate destination of the [[Awash River]], which is at the center of the [[Afar Triangle]].<ref>Robert Mepham, R. H. Hughes, and J. S. Hughes, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VLjafeXa3gMC&pg=PP1 ''A directory of African wetlands''], (Cambridge: IUCN, UNEP and WCMC, 1992), p. 166</ref> Lake Abbe is considered one of the most inaccessible areas of the earth. The water itself is known for its [[flamingos]].

==Overview== [[File:Abbe-8.jpg|thumb|left|Chimneys near Lake Abbe]] Lake Abbe is the ultimate destination of the waters of the [[Awash River]]. It lies at the [[Afar triple junction]], the central meeting place for the three pieces of the Earth's crust, a defining feature of the [[Afar Depression]]. Here three pieces of Earth's crust are each pulling away from that central point, though not all at the same speed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Beyene |first1=Alebachew |name-list-style=amp |last2=Abdelsalam |first2=Mohamed G. |year=2005 |title=Tectonics of the Afar Depression: A review and synthesis |journal=[[Journal of African Earth Sciences]] |volume=41 |issue=1–2 |pages=41–59 |doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2005.03.003 }}</ref>

On the northwest shore rises [[Mount Dama Ali]] (1069 m), a dormant volcano, while along the southwestern and southern shores extend vast [[Salt pan (geology)|salt flats]], 10 km in width. Besides the Awash, seasonal affluents of Lake Abbe include two [[wadi]]s, the Oleldere and Abuna Merekes, which enter the lake from the west and south, crossing the salt flats. Although the present area of the lake's open water is {{convert|34000|ha|mi2}}, recent droughts and extraction of water from the Awash River for irrigation has caused the water level of the lake to fall. By 1984, the surface area of the lake had decreased to two thirds of what it was in 1940. During this period about {{convert|11500|hectare}} of saltflats had formed to the southwest of the lake.<ref name=Hughes>{{cite book|author=Hughes, R.H.|title=A Directory of African Wetlands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLjafeXa3gMC&pg=PA443 |year=1992 |publisher=IUCN |isbn=978-2-88032-949-5 |pages=443–447}}</ref> Lake Abbe is a [[hypersaline lake]]; water containing mineral salts flows in but there is no outflow, and pure water evaporates from the surface.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hammer |first=U. T. |title=Saline Lake Ecosystems of the World |publisher=Springer |year=1986 |page=15 |isbn=90-6193-535-0 }}</ref> It is also known as an "amplifier lake", the water level fluctuating dramatically in response to quite small changes in climate.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Schagerl|title=Soda Lakes of East Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jP3CDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |year=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-28622-8 |page=8}}</ref>

[[File:East Africa-Lake Abbe.jpg|thumb|right|Satellite image of Lake Abbe]] The [[Afar people]] have established a settlement near the lake's shore. Lake Abbe is known for its [[limestone]] chimneys, which reach heights of {{convert|50|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} and from which steam spews forth.<ref name=Schager>{{cite book|author=Michael Schagerl|title=Soda Lakes of East Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jP3cDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |year=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-28622-8 |page=32}}</ref> These carbonate chimneys are formed by the mixing of lake water and a deeper geothermal fluid.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2014-11-10|title=Hydrothermal carbonate chimneys from a continental rift (Afar Rift): Mineralogy, geochemistry, and mode of formation|journal=Chemical Geology|language=en|volume=387|pages=87–100|doi=10.1016/j.chemgeo.2014.08.019|issn=0009-2541|last1=Dekov|first1=V.M.|last2=Egueh|first2=N.M.|last3=Kamenov|first3=G.D.|last4=Bayon|first4=G.|last5=Lalonde|first5=S.V.|last6=Schmidt|first6=M.|last7=Liebetrau|first7=V.|last8=Munnik|first8=F.|last9=Fouquet|first9=Y.|last10=Tanimizu|first10=M.|last11=Awaleh|first11=M.O.|last12=Guirreh|first12=I.|last13=Le Gall|first13=B.|url=https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00206/31762/30172.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Awaleh|first1=Mohamed Osman|last2=Hoch|first2=Farhan Bouraleh|last3=Boschetti|first3=Tiziano|last4=Soubaneh|first4=Youssouf Djibril|last5=Egueh|first5=Nima Moussa|last6=Elmi|first6=Sikie Abdillahi|last7=Mohamed|first7=Jalludin|last8=Khaireh|first8=Mohamed Abdi|year=2015|title=The geothermal resources of the Republic of Djibouti — II: Geochemical study of the Lake Abhe geothermal field|journal=Journal of Geochemical Exploration|volume=159|pages=129–147|doi=10.1016/j.gexplo.2015.08.011}}</ref> [[Greater flamingo|Flamingos]] can also be found on the waters.<ref name=Hubbard>{{cite book|author=Nyla Jo Jones Hubbard|title=Doctors Without Borders in Ethiopia: Among the Afar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HmE8h4djrx8C&pg=PA122 |year=2011|publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=978-0-87586-853-0 |page=122}}</ref>

===Gallery=== <gallery class="center"> File:Lac Abbe-02.JPG|Sunset at Lake Abbe. File:Lac Abbe.JPG|Dry part of Lake Abbe. File:Lac Abbe 2.JPG|[[Swamp]]y part of Lake Abbe. File:Flamants roses du Lac Abbe.JPG|[[Flamingos]] at Lake Abbe. </gallery>

==Climate== The Lake Abbe's climate offers year-round sunny skies and dry air. It has less than {{convert|172|mm|in|0|}} mean annual rainfall and a summer average temperature between {{convert|30|and|40|C|F}}. Temperatures in the coldest months range between {{convert|21|and|30|C|F}} on average.

{{Weather box |metric first=yes |single line=yes |location=Lake Abbe, Djibouti |Jan high C=30.4 |Feb high C=30.8 |Mar high C=32.9 |Apr high C=35.0 |May high C=38.0 |Jun high C=40.4 |Jul high C=39.9 |Aug high C=38.6 |Sep high C=37.5 |Oct high C=35.0 |Nov high C=32.3 |Dec high C=30.8

|Jan precipitation mm=5 |Feb precipitation mm=9 |Mar precipitation mm=14 |Apr precipitation mm=19 |May precipitation mm=7 |Jun precipitation mm=3 |Jul precipitation mm=32 |Aug precipitation mm=45 |Sep precipitation mm=20 |Oct precipitation mm=9 |Nov precipitation mm=6 |Dec precipitation mm=3 | source= ''Climate-Data.org'', altitude: 251m<ref name="Climate-Data.org">{{cite web|title=Climate: Lake Abbe - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table|url=https://en.climate-data.org/location/929032/|publisher=Climate-Data.org|access-date=25 September 2016}}</ref>

}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{in lang|fr}} [http://danakil.ethiopia.free.fr/abbe.htm Photos of Lake Abbe] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070714124303/http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/afr/dsafr002.html ILEC database entry for Lake Abbe] * Recent trip to [http://www.onceinalifetimejourney.com/once-in-a-lifetime-journeys/africa/en-route-to-an-otherworldly-creation-in-lake-abbe/ Lake Abbe with photos] (English) * Photographs of the limestone chimneys of [https://independent-travellers.com/djibouti/lake_abbe/ Lake Abbe], February 2015

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbe}} [[Category:Afar Region]] [[Category:Awash River]] [[Category:Lakes of Djibouti]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Djibouti]] [[Category:Lakes of Ethiopia]] [[Category:Saline lakes of the Great Rift Valley]] [[Category:Djibouti–Ethiopia border]] [[Category:International lakes of Africa]] [[Category:Important Bird Areas of Ethiopia]]