Lake · Vanuatu
Lake Letas
Lake Letas lies in the middle of Gaua, a volcanic island in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu. With about 19 km² of water, it is the largest lake in Vanuatu.
Picture credit: Bradwarden (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Lake Letas?
Countries on its shores: Vanuatu.
Largest lake of: Vanuatu.
Middle of the lake: 14.28° S, 167.53° E
The story behind it
Lake Letas lies high up in the middle of its island, and right beside it rises an active volcano called Mount Garat (also written Gharat). The lake wraps around the volcano like a giant letter U, on every side except the south-west. It is about 9 kilometres long and 6 kilometres wide, and its surface lies 418 metres above the sea. The lake is surprisingly deep: on average about 42 metres, and in one place as much as 119 metres. Altogether it holds about 800 million cubic metres of water. On the eastern side, the water spills over a natural edge and flows away. Then it tumbles down the Siri Waterfall and runs on to the Pacific Ocean. Only a few kinds of animals live in the lake, mainly eels and shrimps. Since 2004 the lake has been on a list of candidates for UNESCO World Heritage.
Find it on the globe
Lake Letas 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.
Questions children ask
How big is Lake Letas?
Lake Letas covers about 19 km², which makes it the largest lake in Vanuatu. It is about 9 kilometres long and 6 kilometres wide.
Is there really a volcano at the lake?
Yes. The active volcano Mount Garat rises right beside the lake, and the water curves around it in a U shape.
How deep is Lake Letas?
At its deepest point Lake Letas is 119 metres deep. On average it is about 42 metres deep.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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