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Lake Mantasoa

Coordinates: 19°01′15″S 47°51′36″E / 19.0208°S 47.8599°E / -19.0208; 47.8599
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Lake Mantasoa
Location of the reservoir in Madagascar.
Location of the reservoir in Madagascar.
Lake Mantasoa
LocationAnalamanga region, Madagascar
Coordinates19°01′15″S 47°51′36″E / 19.0208°S 47.8599°E / -19.0208; 47.8599
Typereservoir
River sourcesVarahina river
Built1936
Surface area20 km2 (7.7 sq mi)
Surface elevation1,397 metres (4,583 ft)
SettlementsMantasoa

Lake Mantasoa is a large artificial lake with a surface area of 20.05 km2 (7.74 sq mi), created by the Mantasoa Dam on the Varahina river (an affluent of the Ikopa) in the municipality of Mantasoa, Analamanga region of Madagascar.[1] It provides immediate irrigation for Betsimitatatra paddies in Analamanga and tabbed water for the capital Antananarivo. The water temperature reaches up to between 13-22 degrees in winter.

The lake's lack of basal microfauna and ferruginous soil provides clear water.[2]

The area prior had been previously researched by Johann Maria Hildebrandt who collected fossils and fauna samples there in middle of 1880.[3]

It is home to one of only two sturgeon farms in the Southern Hemisphere beside the Rio Negro in Uruguay.[2]

Geography

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It is situated at 68km east of Antananarivo. The lake is located at an altitude of 1,400 metres.

References

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  1. ^ "Lake Mantasoa". Madonline.com. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  2. ^ a b Merlot, Roxane (2 May 2022). "Quand le caviar vient de Madagascar : un produit de luxe dans l'un des pays les plus pauvres du monde". GEO (in French).
  3. ^ Beentje, H. J. (1998). "J. M. Hildebrandt (1847 - 1881): Notes on His Travels and Plant Collections". Kew Bulletin. 53 (4): 849. doi:10.2307/4118872.