Found a large lake in the Sahara desert

Between the Sahara Desert, in the northwestern Sudan, a large lake of approximately the size of Lake Bai can be found. Most impressive is the lake with water. The lake is located just below the sand layers.

Scientists seem to have been fortunate to find one more proof that the Sahara is not always desert. At the University of Boston Exploration Center it is said, this is a lake with a huge amount of water, called the Great Lake because of its huge size hiding under the ground.

To determine the exact location of the lake, Dr. Eman Ghoneim and Dr. Faruc El-Baz studied the photographs of the location of Darfur. According to their data, the former lakeshore was about 573 m (plus - minus 3 m) above sea level.

As the researchers commented, it is estimated that some rivers flow into this lake. The maximum area that this lake previously occupied is about 30,750 km ² . In addition, the authors also calculated that in the period of fullness, the volume of water in the lake could reach 2,530 km ³ !

Currently the lake is still " alive ", only in slight variation. As Dr. El-Baz commented, most of the Great Lake's water seeps into the ground and now the lake is in the form of groundwater.

Lake diagram. (Photo: Newscientist.com)

This information is very important because it can be used for practical purposes. The problem is that this region of Sudan is suffering from a serious shortage of freshwater. The discovery of groundwater is an invaluable gift for local people.

Studies conducted earlier by Dr. El-Baz in the north of Darfur and in the territory of Egypt have brought significant benefits to people living in the desert. Thanks to his scientific projects, southwestern Egypt could have 500 wells with their 25 meters of water capable of irrigating about 40,000 hectares of farmland. But, the recent discovery is much larger.

Currently, Boston University scientists have not determined the age of the lake. According to their comments, the size of the lake indicates regular rainfall, but thanks to the volume of water in the pool is always full. This finding once again confirms that the Sahara was previously within the limits of a temperate climate and covered by vegetation.

However, few people believe it. And people are looking for evidence of this hypothesis by different methods.

Doan Phuong