Bosumtwi
| Bosumtwi / Bosomtwe | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Geographical location | Ghana | |
| Drain | drainless | |
| Location close to the shore | Kumasi (28 km NW) | |
| Data | ||
| Coordinates | 6 ° 30 '26 " N , 1 ° 24' 24" W | |
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| Altitude above sea level | 107 m | |
| surface | 49 km² (26.8 km of shoreline) | |
| Maximum depth | 81 m | |
| Catchment area | 106 km² | |
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| Gold Coast, Lake Bosumtwi | ||
Bosumtwi , also known as Bosomtwe , is a lake in the Ashanti region in Ghana , West Africa , which is located in a meteorite crater . The lake has a diameter of eight kilometers and a depth of about 80 meters. There is no drain. The crater measures 10.5 kilometers in diameter. Its age was determined to be 1.07 million years. It is therefore a very young impact crater (measured against the history of the earth).
Although the lake is in the catchment area of the Pra , it is a closed hydrological system.
geology
The Bosumtwi crater is located in crystalline rocks of the West African shield (Birimian system, about two billion years old). The laminated sediments of the lake represent a climate archive and were recorded in 2004 through several research boreholes up to 540 meters deep.
particularities
A special feature of the Bosumtwi crater is the occurrence of tektites (impact glasses), which were formed when the meteorite hit and were thrown up to 1000 kilometers to the west (into today's Ivory Coast ). Tektites have only been observed in four of the more than 170 meteorite craters worldwide. From the occurrence and distribution of the tektites, with the help of simulation studies , it can be concluded that an approximately 500 meter large meteorite struck from the east at an angle of 30 to 50 degrees at a speed of more than 20 kilometers per second.
fauna
In the lake live eleven species of fish, including guppies Roloffia petersii and Epiplatys chaperi which Quappenwels Amphilius atesuensis and the cichlids coptodon discolor , Sarotherodon galilaeus multifasciatus , Hemichromis frempongi and "tilapia" busumana . The last two are endemic , so they only live in this lake. A special color morph from Günther's magnificent perch lives in the tributaries .
Notation
While the spelling “Bosumtwi” (which is pretty close to the correct pronunciation; open o, sharp s, open u, very open i (almost e), emphasis on the second syllable) has become common, u. a. According to Ghanaian scientists from the University of Kumasi, “Bosomtwe” is the correct spelling. The difference in the spelling (but not in the pronunciation) is explained by the origin of the name in the pitch language Twi .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Pra Basin IWRM Plan - Water Resources Commission
- ^ SA Whyte: Distribution, trophic relationships and breeding habits of the fish populations in a tropical lake basin (Lake Bosumtwi-Ghana). Journal of Zoology, Volume 177, Issue 1, September 1975, DOI: 10.1111 / j.1469-7998.1975.tb05969.x
Web links
- Report of the Institute for Geological Sciences, University of Vienna
- Bosumtwi in the Earth Impact Database
- Bosumtwi Crater Drilling Project (English)
- Geological Survey of Canada database
- Ecotourism on Lake Bosumtwi: map and information brochure (English)