Lake Fitri is located in the center of
Chad about 300 km east of
N’Djamena. The normal size of the lake is about . The size of this lake can triple in wetter years. This
freshwater lake is shallow and is fed by seasonal rainfall and run-off from a catchment area estimated at . The principal river feed is the seasonal
Batha River
The Batha River is an ephemeral river in Chad. As with any rivers or lakes in this region, its existence depends on the amount of rainfall. The river's delta is at Lake Fitri in Chad. Batha River carries water west from Ouaddaï highlands Ouadda� ...
which carries water from the
Ouaddai massif to the west.
Similarly to Chad's other lake,
Lake Chad, it is not quite as large as it once was. It has been designated under the
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...
as a Wetland of International Importance. The normally permanent lake may dry out during severe
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
periods, such as occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century and again in 1984–1985.
References
Fitri
Batha Region
Ramsar sites in Chad
{{chad-geo-stub