![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(October 2008) |
Lac de Guiers | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Coordinates | 16°15′N15°50′W / 16.250°N 15.833°W Coordinates: 16°15′N15°50′W / 16.250°N 15.833°W |
Basin countries | Senegal |
Max. length | 35 km (22 mi) |
Max. width | 8 km (5.0 mi) |
Surface area | 17,000 ha (42,000 acres) |
The Lac de Guiers or Lake Guiers is a lake in northern Senegal, south of the city of Richard-Toll and in the Louga and Saint-Louis regions. [1] It is a chief source of fresh water for the city of Dakar, hundreds of kilometers to the south-west, through underground pipes.
It is about 35 kilometers long and 8 kilometers wide, and is supplied by the Ferlo or Bounoum River, which flows north into its southern end, from Fouta in the rainy season.[ citation needed ] Water flows out to the Senegal River north through the Taouey , which has been straightened and canalized as it passes through Richard-Toll. A dam was built in 1916 to prevent saltwater flowing in. [2]
The shores are mostly fertile. The north shore and surrounding area have been converted to a large sugar-growing region irrigated with water from the lake.
Lac de Guiers is designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International; the key species are lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor), glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), African spoonbill (Platalea alba), white-winged tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) and river prinia (Prinia fluviatilis). [1]
The lake has a complicated history involving the kingdoms of Tekrur and Waalo and the Empire of Jolof (Diolof). Notably, the settlement of N'Der, the third and final capital of the former Kingdom of Waalo, was located on the west shores of the Lake. The royal compound or "keur" is still there. Previously Lac de Guiers was called Lac du Panier Foule or Pania Fuli, referring to the Fula people. [3]
The Senegal River is a 1,086 km (675 mi) long river in West Africa; much of its length marks part of the border between Senegal and Mauritania. It has a drainage basin of 270,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi), a mean flow of 680 m3/s (24,000 cu ft/s), and an annual discharge of 21.5 km3 (5.2 cu mi). Important tributaries are the Falémé River, Karakoro River, and the Gorgol River. The river divides into two branches once it passes Kaédi The left branch, called the Doué, runs parallel to the main river to the north. After 200 km (120 mi) the two branches rejoin a few kilometers downstream of Podor.
Biffeche or Bifeche is an area of Senegal centred on the town of Savoigne, around 30 kilometres north-east of the major coastal city of Saint-Louis.
Walo was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north were Moorish emirates; to the south was the kingdom of Cayor; to the east was Jolof.
The Eurasian spoonbill, or common spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The genus name Platalea is from Latin and means "broad", referring to the distinctive shape of the bill, and leucorodia is from Ancient Greek leukerodios "spoonbill", itself derived from leukos, "white" and erodios "heron". In England it was traditionally known as the "shovelard", a name later used for the Northern Shoveller.
The African spoonbill is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa and Madagascar, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
The roseate spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. The roseate spoonbill's pink colour is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin, like the American flamingo. Plume hunting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries almost drove the roseate spoonbill to extinction. However, in recent years, the range of the species has expanded.
The Diawling National Park lies in south west Mauritania around the Senegal River delta. During the rainy season, much of the park consists of large lakes. It is known for having over 220 species of identified birds, including pelicans, black storks, and flamingos, and also for its fish.
The Banc d'Arguin National Park of Bay of Arguin lies in Western Africa on the west coast of Mauritania between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and is the former mouth of the Tamanrasset River. The World Heritage Site is a major site for migratory birds and breeding birds, including flamingos, pelicans and terns. Much of the breeding is on sand banks including the islands of Tidra, Niroumi, Nair, Kijji and Arguim. The surrounding waters are some of the richest fishing waters in western Africa and serve as nesting grounds for the entire western region.
The black-faced spoonbill is a species of wading bird in the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, found in eastern Asia. This species has the most restricted distribution of the six spoonbill species, and it is the only one regarded as endangered. Spoonbills are large water birds with dorso-ventrally flattened, spatulate bills. These birds use a tactile method of feeding, wading in the water and sweeping their beaks from side-to-side to detect prey. Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution. It currently breeds only on a few small rocky islands off the west coast of North Korea, with four wintering sites at Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as other places where they have been observed in migration. Wintering also occurs in Jeju, South Korea, Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, and the Red River delta in Vietnam. More recently, sightings of black-faced spoonbill birds were noted in Thailand, the Philippines, and additional sites in China.
Futa Toro, often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region is along the border of Senegal and Mauritania. It is well watered and fertile close to the river, but the interior parts of the region away from the river is porous, dry and infertile. This region is historically significant for the Islamic theocracies, Fulani states, jihad armies and migrants for Fouta Djallon that emerged from here.
The royal spoonbill also known as the black-billed spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia. The royal spoonbill lives in wetlands and feeds on crustaceans, fish and small insects by sweeping its bill from side to side. It always flies with its head extended. Widespread throughout its large range, the royal spoonbill is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The yellow-billed spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is native to Australia, and is a vagrant to New Zealand, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.
The Godavari-Krishna mangroves are a mangrove ecoregion of India's eastern coast.
Brak was the title of the kings of the kingdoms of Waalo and Biffeche on the Senegal River in Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa until the 19th century.
The wildlife of Senegal consists of the flora and fauna of this nation in West Africa. Senegal has a long Atlantic coastline and a range of habitat types, with a corresponding diversity of plants and animals. Senegal has 188 species of mammals and 674 species of bird.
The French conquest of Senegal started in 1659 with the establishment of Saint-Louis, Senegal, followed by the French capture of the island of Gorée from the Dutch in 1677, but would only become a full-scale campaign in the 19th century.
The Diep River Fynbos Corridor is a nature reserve located in the Blaauwberg region of Cape Town, South Africa. It forms part of the larger Table Bay Nature Reserve, which was established in June 2012.
The Rivière aux eaux mortes flows entirely in forest areas in two territories Quebec, in Canada:
Chibougamau Lake is a freshwater body of the municipality of Chibougamau, in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in province of Quebec, in Canada.
N'Der is a small town on the western shore of the Lac de Guiers, in northern Senegal. It was the third and last capital of Waalo until the annexion of the kingdom by France in 1855.