Lake Matano
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| Matano | |
|---|---|
| Location | South Sulawesi, Indonesia |
| Coordinates | |
| Lake type | Tectonic |
| Primary outflows | Penten River |
| Basin countries | Indonesia |
| Surface area | 164.1 km² |
| Max. depth | 590 m |
| Surface elevation | 382 m |
Lake Matano (Indonesian: Danau Matano), also known as Matana, is a natural lake in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is the deepest lake in Indonesia (ranked by maximum depth), and the 8th deepest lake in the world. It is located at .
Endemic Fish of Matano - Lake Matano is home to many species of endemic fish and other animals as well as many plants. The endemic fishes of Matano have been compared to that of the species swarms of the Rift Valley Lakes of Africa. While not as diverese they are thought to have all arisen from a single ancestor species and diversified into numerous different species which now fill many of the previously vacant ecological niches.
Environmental Concerns - Despite Lake Matano's remote location it is the site of Pt. INCO one of the largest Nickel mines in the world, which carries out strip mining in the surrounding rainforest. Cutting down huge swathes of trees and stripping the top soil to be baked in kilns to extract the nickel. Not only has this lead to massive damage to the unique rainforest of the area but it has also had serious detrimental effects on the lake with far higher sediment loads in the rivers feeding into lake matano often with toxic levels of mining waste. The waters of Lake Matano are exceptionally clear and visibility is good and many of the fish species are highly dependant on visual cues and colour perception for their mating behaviour. If the sediment washing into the lake continues to increase the likelihood is that many of these endemic species will be lost.
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