Lake Dapao is a deep water

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located in the province of

Lanao del Sur Lanao del Sur ( tl, Timog Lanao; Maranao language, Maranao and ilp, Pagabagatan Ranao), officially the Province of Lanao del Sur, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous Re ...

, southwest of Lake Lanao, in the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is one of the deepest lakes in the country, reaching a maximum depth of . It has an estimated surface area of . The lake receives water from local run-off and several small

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s. In 1965, the lake and its vicinity was declared as a protected national park under ''Republic Act 4190'' that covers an area of about . Plants growing in the lake includes hydrilla ('' Hydrilla spp'') and the filamentous

alga Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

('' Clodophora spp''). The lake is also rich in fish that includes dalág ('' Ophicephalus striatus''), Mozambique tilapia (''

Oreochromis mossambicus ''Oreochromis'' is a large genus of oreochromine cichlids, fishes endemic to Africa and the Middle East. A few species from this genus have been introduced far outside their native range and are important in aquaculture. Many others have ver ...

''), common carp (''

Cyprinus carpio The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

''), goby ('' Glossogobius giurus'') and catfish ('' Clarias spp''). It was reported that the endangered ''

Barbodes tumba ''Barbodes tumba'' is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to Mindanao, Philippines where it is found in Lake Lanao Lake Lanao ( Maranao: ''Ranao'' or ''Ranaw'') is a large ancient lake in the province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines. With a s ...

'' and other

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

cyprinids Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest vert ...

were once widely distributed in the lake; however, none were found during fieldwork in 1982 and the former is believed to be locally extinct.

References

{{authority control Dapao Protected areas established in 1965 National parks of the Philippines Landforms of Lanao del Sur Tourist attractions in Lanao del Sur

See also

References