Keenjhar Lake (; ), commonly called Karli Lake (; ), is located in
Thatta District
Thatta District (, ) is located in the southern area, locally called ''Laar'', of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its capital is Thatta. It is home to a large necropolis of Makli. In 2013, several talukas were separated to form the new Suj ...
of the
Sindh
Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
province in Pakistan. It is situated about from the city of
Thatta
Thatta is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Its construction was ordered by Jam Nizamuddin II in 1495. Thatta's historic signif ...
. It is an important source of drinking water for
Thatta District
Thatta District (, ) is located in the southern area, locally called ''Laar'', of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its capital is Thatta. It is home to a large necropolis of Makli. In 2013, several talukas were separated to form the new Suj ...
and Karachi city. Through the construction of a bund on the eastern side, it is said that the lake was formed by the union of two lakes: Sonehri and Keenjhar.
Keenjhar Lake has been declared a
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
wildlife sanctuary
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...
. It provides a favorable habitat for winter migratory birds like
ducks
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
,
geese
A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...
,
flamingos
Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...
,
cormorants
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...
,
wader
245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...
s,
herons
Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus '' Botaurus'' are referred to as ...
,
egrets
Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...
,
ibises
The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...
,
terns
Terns are seabirds in the family (biology), family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genus, genera in a subgroup of the fam ...
,
coots
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...
and
gulls
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and Skimmer (bird), skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gul ...
. It has been observed as a breeding area of the
black-crowned night heron
The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax'') r black-capped night heron commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and Nort ...
, the
cotton pygmy goose
The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal (''Nettapus coromandelianus'') is a small perching duck which breeds in Asia, Southeast Asia extending south and east to Queensland where they are sometimes called white-quilled pygmy goose. They are among t ...
,
purple swamphen The purple swamphen has been split into the following species:
* Western swamphen, ''Porphyrio porphyrio'', southwest Europe and northwest Africa
* African swamphen, ''Porphyrio madagascariensis'', sub-Saharan continental Africa and Madagascar
* ...
, and
pheasant-tailed jacana
The pheasant-tailed jacana (''Hydrophasianus chirurgus'') is a Jacanidae, jacana in the Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus ''Hydrophasianus''. Like all other jacanas, they have elongated toes and nails that enable them to walk on floating vegetatio ...
.
Keenjhar Lake is a popular tourist resort. Many people from Karachi,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
and
Thatta
Thatta is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Its construction was ordered by Jam Nizamuddin II in 1495. Thatta's historic signif ...
visit to enjoy picnics, swimming, fishing, and boating.
The famous folklore of
Noori Jam Tamachi
''Noori Jam Tamachi'' (Sindhi language , Sindhi:) is a folktale in the Sindhi folklore dating back to the 15th century.The story appears in Shah Jo Risalo and forms part of seven popular tragic romances from Sindh, Pakistan. The other six tales ...
who was a fisherwoman, is connected to the lake. There is a shrine in the middle of the lake marking Noori's grave, which is visited by devotees.
See also
*
List of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan
This page shows the province-wise list of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan. According to the International Commission on Large Dams73 dams and reservoirsin Pakistan are over in height. Tarbela Dam in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the larg ...
*
Indus Basin Project
The Indus Basin Project is a water control project that resulted from a treaty, Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 that guaranteed what Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River independent from upstream contro ...
*
List of lakes in Pakistan
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...