# Sua Pan
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{{short description|Topographic depression in the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana}}
{{Infobox valley
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| country = [Botswana](/source/Botswana)
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| district = [Kalahari Desert](/source/Kalahari_Desert)
| city = [Sowa](/source/Sowa%2C_Botswana)
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The '''Sua Pan''' or '''Sowa Pan''' is a large natural topographic depression within the [Makgadikgadi](/source/Makgadikgadi) region of northeastern [Botswana](/source/Botswana). It is located near the village of ''[Sowa](/source/Sowa%2C_Botswana)'', whose name means [salt](/source/salt) in the language of the [San](/source/Bushmen).[[http://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/attractions/sowa_pan.html Sowa Pan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220190142/http://www.botswanatourism.co.bw/attractions/sowa_pan.html |date=2011-02-20 }}. Botswana Tourism Board.][{{cite book
| title = Southern Africa
| edition = 4th
| author = Murphy, Alan
| publisher = Lonely Planet
| date = 2007
| page = 99
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AijmBeQ9_r8C&q=sua+sowa+pan&pg=PA99
| isbn = 978-1-74059-745-6
| oclc = 156530975
}}] The Sua [salt pan](/source/salt_pan_(geology)) is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being [Nxai Pan](/source/Nxai_Pan) and [Nwetwe Pan](/source/Nwetwe_Pan).[B.R. Davies, 1986]
The Sua Pan was first described to the European world by [David Livingstone](/source/David_Livingstone), pursuant to his [explorations](/source/explorer) in this region.[D. Livingstone, 1868] Significant [archaeological](/source/archaeological) recoveries have been made within the Nwetwe Pan, featuring [Stone-Age](/source/Stone-Age) tools from peoples who lived in this area[{{Cite book|url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789401775199|title=Africa from MIS 6-2: Population Dynamics and Paleoenvironments|date=2016|publisher=Springer Netherlands|isbn=9789401775199|editor-last=Jones|editor-first=Sacha C.|series=Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology|doi=10.1007/978-94-017-7520-5|s2cid=12509903|editor-last2=Stewart|editor-first2=Brian A.}}] when a large year-round lake occupied the Sua and Nwetwe Pans.[{{Cite journal|last1=Burrough|first1=Sallie L.|last2=Thomas|first2=David S.G.|last3=Bailey|first3=Richard M.|date=July 2009|title=Mega-Lake in the Kalahari: A Late Pleistocene record of the Palaeolake Makgadikgadi system|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|volume=28|issue=15–16|pages=1392–1411|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.02.007|bibcode=2009QSRv...28.1392B}}]
The Brines of Sua Pan being one of the largest playa lakes in the world spans approximately 24,000 square kilometers. While [sodium chloride](/source/sodium_chloride) is the prime constituent, there are many other salts found within this area such as [sodium carbonate](/source/sodium_carbonate), [sodium bicarbonate](/source/sodium_bicarbonate), [sodium sulfate](/source/sodium_sulfate), and minor amounts of [potassium chloride](/source/potassium_chloride) ([potash](/source/potash)).[{{Cite journal|author=Republic of Botswana|date=November 24, 1980|title=Botswana Soda-ash Study Contract No. AID/SOD/PDC-C-0407|url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAY142.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221163651/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAY142.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 21, 2017|journal=The Brines of Sua Pan|publisher=United States Agency for International Development}}]
Currently, Sua Pan is a seasonal lake; it fills with water during the summer rainy season and retains water brought from the [Nata River](/source/Nata_River) until April or May.[{{Cite web|url=http://www.itravelto.com/makgadikgadi-pans-climate.html|title=Makgadikgadi Pans Climate - Makgadikgadi Botswana|website=www.itravelto.com}}] Among the more successful wildlife conservation projects in Botswana was the community-initiated [Nata Bird Sanctuary](/source/Nata_Bird_Sanctuary) in the northeast of this area. It opened in 1993 and was awarded that year the "Tourism for Tomorrow Award" for the [Southern Hemisphere](/source/Southern_Hemisphere).[{{cite book|author=Chris McIntyre|title=Botswana: Okavango Delta, Chobe, Northern Kalahari|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781841623085|url-access=registration|access-date=12 April 2011|year=2010|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-308-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781841623085/page/387 387]–}}] It is supported by members of four nearby villages, who have helped make it a success.
One of the tributaries of the Sua Pan is the [Mosetse River](/source/Mosetse_River). The village of [Mosetse](/source/Mosetse) is named for it and lies along the river.
==Industry==
thumb|Pans used for sodium carbonate miningSua Pan is also the site of [sodium carbonate](/source/sodium_carbonate) (soda ash) mining company Botash. The company is half owned by the Botswana government and produces over 300,000 tonnes of soda ash and 450,000 tonnes of salt per year.[{{cite web | url=http://www.botash.bw/company-history/ | title=History }}]
In addition to producing sodium carbonate, the mine also produces [halite](/source/halite), [sodium sulfate](/source/sodium_sulfate) and [sodium bicarbonate](/source/sodium_bicarbonate) salts. The mine uses a variation of the [Solvay process](/source/Solvay_process) to produce their soda ash and byproducts.[{{Cite journal|author1=Frank D.Eckardt |author2=Robert G.Bryant |author3=Graham McCulloch |author4=Baruch Spiro |author5=Warren W.Wood|date=2008|title=The hydrochemistry of a semi-arid pan basin case study: Sua Pan, Makgadikgadi, Botswana|journal=Applied Geochemistry|volume=23 |issue=6|pages=1563–1580|doi=10.1016/j.apgeochem.2007.12.033|bibcode=2008ApGC...23.1563E }}]
==Transport==
Sua Pan is the western terminus of the [Francistown](/source/Francistown)–Sua Pan 174.5 km [railway line](/source/railway_line).
==See also==
* [Mosope River](/source/Mosope_River)
* [Semowane River](/source/Semowane_River)
* [Nata River](/source/Nata_River)
==Sources ==
* David Livingstone (1868) ''Missionary Travels and Researches in [South Africa](/source/South_Africa): Including a Sketch of Sixteen Years' Residence in the Interior of Africa'', Harper Publishers.
* [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=22373&mode=&order=0 C.Michael Hogan (2008) ''Makgadikgadi, The Megalithic Portal''], ed. A. Burnham
* Bryan Robert Davies and Keith F. Walker (1986), ''The [Ecology](/source/Ecology) of River Systems'', Springer, 733 pages, {{ISBN|90-6193-540-7}}, {{ISBN|978-90-6193-540-7}}.
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
{{coord|-20.75|25.95|dim:100000_region:BW|display=title}}
Category:Salt flats of Botswana
Category:Makgadikgadi Pan
Category:Central District (Botswana)
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sua Pan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sua_Pan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sua_Pan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.