Lakes of Ounianga are a series of 18 interconnected lakes in the Sahara Desert, in North-Eastern Chad, occupying a basin in the mountains of West Tibesti and Ennedi East. It constitutes an exceptional natural landscape of great beauty with striking colours and shapes. The saline, hyper saline and freshwater lakes are supplied by groundwater and are found in two groups 40km apart. Ounianga Kebir (The Great Ounianga) comprises 4 lakes, the largest being Yoan. Its highly saline waters only sustain algae and some microorganisms. The second group, Ounianga Serir (The Little Ounianga), comprises 14 lakes separated by sand dunes. With their high quality freshwater, some of these lakes are home to aquatic fauna, particularly fish. At 436 ha, Lake Téli has the largest surface area but is less than 10m deep.
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