Togo (lake)

Lake Togo reaches about 15 km in length, 6 km in width and 64 km² in area. It receives water from the two main rivers, the Sio and Haho , as well as from many smaller rivers. The lake is separated from the sea by a sand spit about a kilometer wide. Togo connects to the smaller Lake Vogan through a narrow canal, and together with a group of small lakes they form a lagoon system along the coast ^[3] .

The main road runs along the spit south of the lake, and several small roads surround the lake and connect small villages. The area is not very populated and not very attractive for tourists. The basis of the economy is extensive agriculture and fisheries . Coconut and oil palm trees are grown on the northern shore of the lake ^[3] .

Togo Lake, along with the nearby Lake Vogan and various coastal lagoons, are bird nesting sites. They are surrounded by floodplains, which are covered with typical floodplain grasses such as cane and cattail . Mangroves are absent. In rare cases of flooding of the lagoons, a fast-growing pistol appears in them ^[3] .

The lake, swamps, lagoons and coastal sands of this area serve as resting places for migratory waterfowls and terns during their migration to West Africa ^[4] . There are fish in the lake, both river and sea. The most common genera are Tilapia and Chrysichthys . Invertebrates are represented by gastropods Pachymelania and Tympanotonos fuscatus , as well as crustaceans Farfantepenaeus duorarum and Callinectes latimanus ^[3] .