| Tonle Sap Lake |
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This lake is one of the most unique ecological water wonders in the world. It is the biggest lake of South East Asia that changes every monsoon and dry season of dimension. With a minimum size of 2.800 km² and about 1 m depth at the end of the monsoon season the lake is fairly small. During the rainy season the water of the Mekong river reverses its flow and pushes back the surplus of rain water into the Tonle Sap lake. This transforms the lake into a big natural water reservoir and the lake increases its dimension until 15.000 km² with a depth 0f 8 m.
The Tonle Sap lake is connected with the Mekong river at the south part of the lake, there is a transport boat that goes over the lake from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh that takes 4 till 5 hours with a speed of 50 km per hour. In this way you can see all the water activities close by. With the continuous change of the water level the people who live on the lake have to move their houses away when the water level goes down. Whole villages including schools, shops, churches and pig farms are getting pulled away to a place where the water is still high enough to float. |
This unique embankment creates a rich biodiversity of fish, birds, reptiles and other mammals around the lake. The aquatic habitat provides 75% of the inland fishing catch and supports over 3 million people with food.
