{{short description|Alkaline lake situated in Oromia Region, Ethiopia}} {{Infobox lake | name = Lake Shala | image = Lake Shala.jpg | caption = Lake Shala in background | image_bathymetry = Ethiopia_central_lakes.jpg | caption_bathymetry = | location = | coords = {{Coord|7|29|N|38|32|E|region:ET_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} | type = | inflow = | outflow = | catchment = | basin_countries = Ethiopia | length = {{convert|28|km|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|12|km|abbr=on}} | area = {{convert|329|km2|abbr=on}} | depth = {{convert|87|m|abbr=on}} | max-depth = {{convert|266|m|abbr=on}} | volume = {{Convert|36.7|km3|cumi|abbr=on}} | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = {{convert|1,558|m|abbr=on}} | islands = Pelican Island | cities = <!-- Map --> | pushpin_map = Ethiopia | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Shala in Ethiopia. | pushpin_map_caption = <!-- Below --> | website = | reference = }} '''Lake Shala''' (also spelled '''Shalla''') is an alkaline lake located in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, in the Abijatta-Shalla National Park.
==Overview== The lake is 28 kilometers long and 12 wide,<ref>''Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68''</ref> with a surface area of 329 square kilometers.<ref name="baxter">Baxter, R. M. "Lake Morphology and Chemistry", in Taylor, W.D. and Tudorancea, C., eds. ''Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes'' (Leiden: Backhuys Publishers, 2002)</ref> It has a maximum depth of 266 meters and is at an elevation of 1,558 meters.<ref name="baxter"/> As such, it is the deepest of Ethiopia's Rift Valley lakes.
Known for the sulphur springs on the lake bed, its islands are inhabited by great white pelicans, one being known as Pelican Island.
Lake Shala is surrounded by hot springs filled with boiling water, and the earth surrounding the lake is filled with cracks due to erosion and earthquakes. Due to steam rising from the boiling water in the springs, the atmosphere around the lake is relatively foggy. Various species of flamingoes and birds that frequent the lake are found at its southern end.
==See also== *O'a Caldera *Rift Valley lakes
==References== {{reflist}}
Shala Shala Category:Ethiopian Highlands Category:Geography of Oromia
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