Souapiti Reservoir

Where is Souapiti Reservoir?

Countries on its shores: Guinea.

Largest body of water of: Guinea.

Middle of the lake: 10.42° N, 13.27° W

The story behind it

Guinea has no natural lake of this size; the largest body of water is this reservoir. It was built for electricity. Work on the Souapiti Dam across the Konkouré river began in 2015, and the power station started working in 2021. Behind the dam, the river valley filled with water, and a lake of about 312 km² formed. Much of it covers land that used to be dry: fields, fruit trees and villages. About 16 000 people from 101 villages and hamlets had to move to new homes before the water rose. The dam also helps the Kaléta power station further down the river to make more electricity.

Find it on the globe

Souapiti Reservoir 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.