Where is Lake Yoa located?

The lake is located in Ounianga Kebir within the Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region of northeastern Chad.

Why is the lake significant for climate research?

Continuous water coverage preserved lake bed sediment and pollen layers that document the transition from forest to desert.

What did sediment core research reveal about regional desertification?

Pollen from the lake core showed a gradual shift toward arid conditions through intermediary scrubland and grassland stages.

Is Lake Yoa connected to other lakes?

It belongs to the Lakes of Ounianga group located in the northeastern desert basin west of Ounianga Sarir.

How did the lake survive in the desert?

The water body is a remnant of a large ancient lake system from the African Humid period that has persisted without drying out completely.

Chad

Lake Yoa: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Field teams stationed at Ounianga Kebir trade civil amenities for access to ancient climate archives.

About the place

Now in the cityLake Yoa+24°CClear nightupdated 02:32 AM

Exchange rateFCFA 585.95per 1 $XAF — the local currencyas of Nov 2, 2026

About the place

A resilient water body in Ounianga Kebir preserves continuous ecological records from the African Humid period.

Lake Yoa forms the central body of the Ounianga Kebir basin in northeastern Chad. It remains the most prominent and second largest water sheet among the relict lakes surviving in the Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region. These desert waters represent the remaining surface of a prehistoric lake system that covered the surrounding depression during the African Humid period before shifting climate regimes dried out northern Africa.

Read on

Continuous water cover has shielded the bottom sediments from wind dispersal and erosion across thousands of years. Core drilling by Stefan Kröpelin revealed fossil pollen layers that document an ecological transition from forest to grassland and scrub before total desertification. This terrestrial record demonstrates a gradual drying process driven by regional trade winds, revising models based solely on Atlantic ocean sediments.

Associations

Lakes of OuniangaPart of the protected desert lake cluster situated in the northeastern basin.
Sediment coresUndisturbed bottom layers provide continuous environmental data for climate study.
Remote desert accessReaching the basin requires long overland transport across rough Sahara terrain.
African Humid periodThe surrounding landscape preserves relic ecosystems from the prehistoric wet era.

Facts

Stefan Kröpelin recovered sediment cores from the lake floor to analyze prehistoric pollen layers.
Lake Yoa is situated in Ounianga Kebir to the west of Ounianga Sarir in northeastern Chad.
Sediment analysis showed a gradual ecological shift from forest through grassland into desert.
The lake survived continuously without drying out after the end of the African Humid period.

Updated September 21, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Lake Yoa: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

A resilient water body in Ounianga Kebir preserves continuous ecological records from the African Humid period.

Getting there and staying

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