Lake Zway

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Lake Zway

Coordinates	8°00′N 38°50′ECoordinates: 8°00′N 38°50′E
Basin countries	Ethiopia
Max. length	25 km
Max. width	20 km
Surface area	434 km²
Max. depth	4 m
Surface elevation	1,846 m
Islands	5 (Debre Sina, Galila, Bird Island, Tullu Gudo)
Settlements	Ziway

Lake Zway or Lake Ziway is one of the freshwater Rift Valley lakes of Ethiopia. It is located about 60 miles south of Addis Ababa, on the border between the regions (or kililoch) of Oromia and of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples. The town of Ziway lies on the lake's western shore.

According to the Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68, Lake Zway is 25 kilometers long and 20 km wide, with a surface area of 434 square kilometers. It has a maximum depth of 4 meters and is at an elevation of 1,846 meters. It has five islands which include Debre Sina, Galila, Bird Island and, perhaps most notably, Tullu Gudo, home to a monastery said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant around the ninth century. The lake does not always have an outflow, but in some years it drains into Lake Abijatta.

The lake is known for its population of birds and hippopotamuses. Lake Zway supports a fishing industry; according to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2,454 tonnes of fish are landed each year, which the department estimates is 83% of its sustainable amount.^[1]

The shores and islands of Lake Zway are the home of the Gurage people. Tradition states that when the Muslim Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi conquered Ethiopia, the Christians of the area took refuge on its islands. They were later isolated from the rest of Ethiopia by the Oromo people, who settled around the lake. At the time Menelik II conquered the lands around the lake, the lake-dwellers were rediscovered and found to have preserved both their Christian faith and a number of ancient manuscripts.^[2]