National Park Lake Manyara
Manyara Lake is a Tanzania National Park, located from the Arusha region to the crater national park and Serengeti National Park. Ernest Hemingway, visiting Lake Manyara, called it "Africa's most beautiful place". At the lake, a large amount of milk is found in Tyrukalle, it is often used as a hedge of herders. From the Maa language, the name of this plant translates as "emagnara", hence the name of the lake.
In 1957, the lake became a reserve, and since 1960, Manyara was declared a national park. In normal condition, the area of the lake is 200 km2, during rains increases to 330 km2. The heights in the park range from 960 to 1478 meters. Although the park is small in territory, it absorbed all the best of the country: rift valleys, picturesque lake, inaccessible slopes.
Almost the entire territory of the park is occupied by Lake Manyara, which during drought decreases in size, opening salt-covered banks. The tribe of the masses living here uses this salt to make special smelling tobacco. In the northern often park you can meet volcanic rock, in the southern part there are mainly hard crystalline rocks, where the rift approaches the lake you can find hot springs.
The flora and fauna of the park is represented by a wide variety. Within the borders of the national park, Lake Manyara is a huge number of African elephants, which have been watched here since 1966. According to the latest estimates of scientists, the density of elephants is 6 individuals per km2. In addition to elephants in the park, you can meet: buffaloes, lions, impalas, black rhinos, zebras, giraffes, African warts, wildebeest. In addition to mammals, a huge number of feathered four hundred species live in the park, among which it is worth noting the flamingos that flooded tens of thousands of individuals on the shore of Lake Manyara. In general, Lake Manyara is a paradise for lovers of watching birds. After all, there are: pelicans, cormorants, storks, ibis, vultures, eagles.
In the national park, Lake Manyara presents several areas of vegetation. In the eastern part of the lake lies a forest massif, which is fed by underground sources. Here you can meet: ficus, mole, pig-fed. In the western part, cereals and baobabs predominate. In the northern part you can find a narrow-leaved corneal, and in the southern capers and sausage trees. Everywhere in the park you can meet a date palm tree.
About 650 mm of precipitation falls annually in the park. The main rainfall falls in November - December and February - April.
