Area 8,502 km² Mean depth 19 m Islands Kporve | Lake type Reservoir Surface elevation 85 m Inflow source Black Volta, White Volta | |
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Primary inflows Catchment area 385,180 km (148,720 sq mi) Similar Akosombo Dam, Kakum National Park, Mole National Park, White Volta, Mount Afadja | ||
Lake Volta is a large reservoir contained behind the Akosombo Dam. It is completely within the country of Ghana and has a surface area of 8,502 square kilometres (3,283 sq mi).
Contents
Map of Lake Volta, Ghana
Geography
Lake Volta lies along the Greenwich meridian, and just six degrees of latitude north of the Equator. The lake's northernmost point is close to the town of Yapei, and its southernmost extreme is at the Akosombo Dam, 520 km (320 mi) downstream from Yapei. Akosombo Dam holds back both the White Volta River and the Black Volta River, which formerly converged where the middle of the reservoir now lies, to form the single Volta River. The present Volta River flows from the outlets of the dam's powerhouse and spillways to the Atlantic Ocean in southern Ghana.
The main islands within the lake are Dodi, Dwarf, and Kporve. Digya National Park lies on part of the lake's western shore.
History
The lake is formed by the Akosombo Dam, which was originally conceived by the geologist Albert Ernest Kitson in 1915, but whose construction only began in 1961 with completion in 1965. Because of the formation of Lake Volta, about 78,000 people were relocated to new towns and villages, along with 200,000 animals belonging to them. About 120 buildings were destroyed, not including small residences, as over 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2) of territory were flooded.
Economy
The Akosombo Dam provides electricity for much of the country, as well as for export to Togo, Benin, and nearby countries, to earn foreign exchange value. Lake Volta is also important for transportation, providing a waterway for both ferries and cargo watercraft. Since the huge lake lies in a tropical area, the water remains warm year-round naturally. Given good management, Lake Volta is the location of a vast population of fish and large fisheries.
The lake also attracts tourism, and tourist cruises visit the island of Dodi.
Recent developments include a large-scale enterprise to harvest submerged timber from the flooded forests under Lake Volta. This project harvests high-value tropical hardwood without requiring additional logging or destruction of existing forest and, according to Wayne Dunn, "could generate the largest source of environmentally sustainable natural tropical hardwood in the world." The Ghanaian-owned company Underwater Forest Resources has committed itself to making said lumber available in the global market, while Flooring Solutions Ghana have become the suppliers of hardwood floors, using the rare wood from the Lake. In addition to generating foreign currency for the region and reducing the dependence of locals on fishing as a primary economic activity, the removal of submerged trees is improving navigation on the lake and increasing safety.
An estimated 7,000 - 10,000 child slaves work in the fishing industry on Lake Volta.