Lake Gabou (, , ) is a lake and wetlands area in the Tagant Region of
Mauritania
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
.
History
Historically, the lake and the basin around it were also known as Tammourt en Naaj () or Hoorewendu, meaning 'head of the swamp' in
Pulaar
Pulaar (in Latin script, Latin: , in Ajami script, Ajami: ), often referred to as Pulaar du Nord, is dialect of the Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula people, Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley ar ...
, and sheltered a population of
hippopotami
The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahara ...
.
Environment
The lake captures runoff from the
Tagant plateau
The Tagant Plateau is located in eastern Mauritania, forming a stony part of the Sahara Desert. The Tagant Region, a national administrative division, is named after the plateau.
Geography
Some towns are located at the foot of the Tagant Plateau ...
and supports a range of indigenous flora and fauna, including
date
Date or dates may refer to:
* Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
* Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba''
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activi ...
West African crocodile
The West African crocodile, desert crocodile, or sacred crocodile (''Crocodylus suchus'') is a species of crocodile related to, and often confused with, the larger and more aggressive Nile crocodile (''C. niloticus'').
Taxonomy
The species wa ...
s and
migrating birds
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
. It was designated 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)
**
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
because it supports a significant population of wintering
ruff Ruff may refer to:
Places
*Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
*Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community
Other uses
*Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader famil ...