Which one of the following lakes of West Africa has become dry and turned into a desert?
(a) Lake Victoria
(b) Lake Faguibine
(c) Lake Oguta
(d) Lake Volta
Explanation
The correct answer is (b) Lake Faguibine.
Here is a comprehensive explanation of each option:
(a) Lake Victoria
- Lake Victoria is a freshwater lake in East Africa.
- It is the largest lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world.
- It is not dry and has not turned into a desert.
(b) Lake Faguibine
- Lake Faguibine is located in northern Mali, west of Timbuktu.
- It started to disappear after catastrophic droughts in the 1970s.
- The lake has been mostly dry since the Sahel drought of the 1970s and 1980s.
- The surrounding area has turned into a desert.
(c) Lake Oguta
- Lake Oguta is a freshwater lake in Nigeria.
- It is an important source of water for irrigation and fishing in the region.
- It has not become dry or turned into a desert.
(d) Lake Volta
- Lake Volta is the largest artificial reservoir in the world based on surface area.
- It is located in Ghana, West Africa.
- It is not dry and has not turned into a desert.
Learn more
- Lake Faguibine is part of a system of five interconnected low-lying lakes and channels in Mali.
- The lake was once one of the largest in West Africa and was fed by annual flooding from the Niger River.
- The drying of Lake Faguibine has caused a partial collapse of the local ecosystem.
- Climate change, human activities such as damming and irrigation, and the advance of the Sahara desert have contributed to the drying of the lake.
- The drying of Lake Faguibine has forced more than 200,000 people to abandon their traditional livelihoods.
