The Sua Pan or Sowa Pan is a large natural topographic depression within the Makgadikgadi region of

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

. It is located near the village of '' Sowa'', whose name means

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

in the language of the San. The Sua salt pan is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being Nxai Pan and Nwetwe Pan. The Sua Pan was first described to the European world by

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

, pursuant to his explorations in this region. Significant

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

recoveries have been made within the Nwetwe Pan, featuring Stone-Age tools from peoples who lived in this area when a large year-round lake occupied the Sua and Nwetwe Pans. The Brines of Sua Pan being one of the largest playa lakes in the world spans approximately 24,000 square kilometers. While

sodium chloride Sodium chloride , commonly known as Salt#Edible salt, edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs a ...

is the prime constituent, there are many other salts found within this area such as

sodium carbonate Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash, sal soda, and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water ...

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate ( IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (or simply “bicarb” especially in the UK) is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cat ...

sodium sulfate Sodium sulfate (also known as sodium sulphate or sulfate of soda) is the inorganic compound with formula Na2SO4 as well as several related hydrates. All forms are white solids that are highly soluble in water. With an annual production of 6 mill ...

, and minor amounts of

potassium chloride Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a sa ...

(

potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

). Currently, Sua Pan is a seasonal lake; it fills with water during the Summer rainy season and retains water until April or May brought from the Nata River. Among the more successful wildlife conservation projects in Botswana was the community-initiated Nata Bird Sanctuary in the northeast of this area. It opened in 1993 and was awarded that year the "Tourism for Tomorrow Award" for the Southern Hemisphere. It is supported by members of four nearby villages, who have helped make it a success. One of the tributaries of the Sua Pan is the Mosetse River. The village of Mosetse is named for it and lies along the river.

Industry

Sua Pan is also the site of

(soda ash) mining company Botash. The company is half owned by the Botswana government and produces over 300,000 tonnes of soda ash and 450,000 tonnes of salt per year. In addition to producing sodium carbonate, the mine also produces

halite Halite ( ), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

and

salts. The mine uses a variation of the

Solvay process The Solvay process or ammonia–soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na2CO3). The ammonia–soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the ...

to produce their soda ash and byproducts.

Transport

Sua Pan is the western terminus of the

Francistown Francistown is the second-largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 inhabitants and 147,122 inhabitants in its agglomeration at the 2022 census. It is located in eastern Botswana, about north-northeast from the capital, Gabo ...

–Sua Pan 174.5 km

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

Sources

* David Livingstone (1868) ''Missionary Travels and Researches in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

: Including a Sketch of Sixteen Years' Residence in the Interior of Africa'', Harper Publishers.
C.Michael Hogan (2008) ''Makgadikgadi, The Megalithic Portal''
ed. A. Burnham * Bryan Robert Davies and Keith F. Walker (1986), ''The

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

of River Systems'', Springer, 733 pages, , .

Footnotes

{{coord, -20.75, 25.95, dim:100000_region:BW, display=title Salt flats of Botswana Makgadikgadi Pan Central District (Botswana)

Industry

Transport

See also

Sources

Footnotes