SECRET LIFE OF LAKES

In the heart of Siberia, a paradoxical lake defies the usual laws of such bodies of water. It is 25 million years old and getting deeper every day, covering a deep abyss in the Russian landscape. Those who live on its shores revere this exceptional lake, calling it “the Pearl of Siberia."

This lake and river system in Cambodia is unique in the world, and the people residing on its banks live a part aquatic and part terrestrial existence. Fishing, snake hunting and crocodile breeding are part of daily life for the Khmers on the banks of Tonlé Sap.

Lake Nasser is the result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The consequences, positive and negative, of the existence of this huge reservoir are equally spectacular. Though electricity reaches the smallest Egyptian villages – the Nile Delta, deprived of its silt, is gradually disappearing.

The Great Salt Lake in Utah is divided into two parts by a railroad causeway, and each part of the lake has its own unique salinity and eco system. There is actually Lake Snow that falls in the surrounding mountains. Many species depend on this salty body of water for sustenance.

The dunes that stretch as far as the eye can see to the north of São Luís make one think of the Sahara, but the water surrounding the dunes is not a mirage. This is the Lençois Maranhenses National Park, a chain of little-known Brazilian lakes with an amazing ecosystem.