Jump to content

Lake Volta

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Citterio (talk | contribs) at 13:25, 24 May 2006 (+ it). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lake Volta in Ghana
Lake Volta from space, April 1993

Lake Volta (located at 6°30′N 0°0′E / 6.500°N 0.000°E / 6.500; 0.000) is the largest reservoir in the world (being larger than Lake Nasser), lying in Ghana and covering almost 8,500 km² (3,275 square miles). Its northernmost point is at the town of Yapei, and southernmost at the Akosombo Dam, 520 kilometers downstream.

The dam holds back the White Volta River and the Black Volta River. These two rivers formerly converged to form the Volta River; this river now flows from the dam to the Atlantic Ocean.

The lake was formed in 1957 when the Akosombo Dam was built. Due to the formation of Lake Volta, 78,000 people were relocated to new townships, along with two hundred thousand animals belonging to them; 120 church buildings were destroyed.

The dam produces electricity for much of the nation. It is also important for transportation, plied by both ferries and by cargo boats.

The Digya National Park lies on part of the lake's west shore.

On April 9, 2006 a passenger boat sunk in the lake drowning circa 120 people.