Lake Africa, which is 250 miles of man -made, is the largest lake in the world World news
When people think about huge man -made projects, artificial lakes are not usually the first thing that comes to mind. The skyscrapers, bridges and tunnels tend to control discussions about amazing engineering. But while these structures often steal the lights, there is a wonderful thing about the largest man -made lake in the world based on the surface area.
This massive tank was created by drowning the entire villages and forests, which led to the complete reshaping of the landscape, forcing thousands of people to move with energy generation and transfer in the region. The Volta Lake, which is located in Ghana, extends at 8,502 square kilometers – about 3.6 % of the total land area in the country.
It extends about 250 miles (400 km) from north to south, formed in the 1960s when the Acoosombo Dam was built to harness the power of the Volta River.
The dam generates 912 megawatts of electricity, and provides most of the Ghana power and even the export of energy to neighboring countries such as Togo and Benin.
But the creation of the lake came at a large cost. The entire forests were flooded, and 78,000 people were forced to move when 15,000 homes and 740 villages were flooded.
The project aims to modernize the area and increase fishing, but it also disrupted traditional agriculture and livelihoods.
Despite these challenges, Lake Volta has become a decisive waterway, as it provides a cheap transport link between the northern savana in Ghana and the coast.
One of the most striking lake features is its island. Dodi islands, dwarfs, and Coporf Islands sit inside their huge extension, with Dodi Island that attracts tourists for boat trips.
The western beach of the lake is also home to the Digia National Park, a protected area of rich biological diversity.
In addition to tourism and transportation, Lake Volta has become a site for an extraordinary industry – submerged wood harvesting.
Trees cutting companies remove tropical solid wood from the swallowed trees when creating the lake, resulting in environmentally sustainable wood supplies without reducing the existing forests.
