Lake Lanoto'o

Samoa's largest lake

13°54′36.72″S 171°49′39.73″W / 13.9102000°S 171.8277028°W / -13.9102000; -171.8277028TypeCrater lakeCatchment area23 hectares (57 acres)Max. length400 metres (1,300 ft)Surface area11 hectares (27 acres)Max. depth17 metres (56 ft)Surface elevation760 metres (2,490 ft)

Lake Lanoto'o is a volcanic crater lake on the island of Upolu in Samoa. It is the largest lake in Samoa.[1] The lake is surrounded by Lake Lanoto'o National Park and is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.[2]

The lake is 400 metres (1,300 ft) long with a maximum depth of 17 metres (56 ft) and an area of 11 hectares,[3] with a water temperature of 27.8 °C (82.0 °F) and a pH of 5.72.[4] The crater is between 100,000 and 1 million years old.[3]

Sediment cores from the lake have been used to date the human settlement of Upolu[5] and of Polynesia,[3] and to study the paleoclimate and past ecology of Upolu.[6]

The lake provides an important habitat for the Pacific black duck and Spotless crake.[1] Goldfish were introduced during the German colonial period.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Samoa" (PDF). SPREP. pp. 12–16. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Lake Lanoto'o". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Sear, David A.; Allen, Melinda S.; Hassall, Jonathan D.; Maloney, Ashley E.; Langdon, Peter G. (16 June 2020). "Human settlement of East Polynesia earlier, incremental, and coincident with prolonged South Pacific drought" (PDF). PNAS. 117 (24): 2. doi:10.1073/pnas.2008788117. PMC 7306803. PMID 32513740. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  4. ^ Schabetsberge, Robert; Drozdowski, Gabriele; Rott, Eugen; Lenzenweger, Rupert; Jersabek, Christian D. (2009). "Losing the Bounty? Investigating Species Richness in Isolated Freshwater Ecosystems of Oceania". Pacific Science. 63 (2): 156. doi:10.2984/049.063.0201. hdl:10125/22753. S2CID 54582687. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  5. ^ Gosling, William D.; Sear, David A.; Hassall, Jonathan; Langdon, Peter G.; Bönnen, Mick N. T. (2020). "Human occupation and ecosystem change on Upolu (Samoa) during the Holocene". Journal of Biogeography. 47 (3): 600–614. doi:10.1111/jbi.13783. S2CID 214565081.
  6. ^ Parkes, Annette (1994). HOLOCENE ENVIRONMENTS AND VEGETATIONAL CHANGE ON FOUR POLYNESIAN ISLANDS (PDF) (PhD). University of Hull. p. 67-86. Retrieved 8 August 2021.


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