Lac de Mâl

Where is Lac de Mâl?

Countries on its shores: Mauritania.

Middle of the lake: 16.92° N, 13.39° W

The story behind it

The lake lies in a hollow about 65 km east-south-east of the town of Aleg. Only 100 to 200 millimetres of rain fall here in a year, all of it in the rainy season. Then many dry riverbeds suddenly carry water, most of all the Oued Leye, and fill the lake. After the rains it covers about 52 km². By the end of the dry season it shrinks to less than 9 km², but it never dries out completely. A dam runs across the middle of the lake and controls how the water floods the land. Above the dam the lake is deepest, up to about 4 metres, and hardly any plants grow there. Below the dam the water is shallow, and rings of water plants cover almost the whole surface. Herders use these plants as food for their animals. More than 20 000 water birds use the lake, among them large flocks of ducks such as garganeys and pintails.

Find it on the globe

Lac de Mâl is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.