Islands Tisai Surface elevation 1,962 m Outflow location Lake Bisina | Designated September 15, 2006 Area 689.1 km² Established 2006 | |
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Surface area 68,912 hectares (170,290 acres) | ||
Lake Opeta is a lake with an extensive wetland system in Uganda.
Contents
Map of Lake Opeta, Uganda
The wetland lies south of the Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve and serves as a dry-season refuge for both wildlife from the park and domestic cattle of the surrounding Karamajong and Pokot people.
Hydrology
Lake Opeta is primarily fed by rainfall on Mount Elgon and drains into Lake Kyoga via Lake Bisina. It is surrounded by an extensive swamp and floodplain.
Conservation
Lake Opeta is one of Uganda's 33 Important Bird Areas and since 2006 a Ramsar-listed wetland of international importance.
A Biodiversity and Eco-Tourism Centre funded by the Global Environmental Facility and UNDP serves the lake.
Birds
Fox's weaver, Uganda's only endemic bird species, is known to inhabit the wetland, as do the globally threatened vulnerable shoebill, near-threatened papyrus gonolek, and 160 other species.