Lake Otjikoto

Otjikoto is a sinkhole formed when the roof of a dolomite cavern collapsed, about a hundred metres across with steep walls and water of an intense green that has been sounded to over sixty metres. In 1915 weapons and equipment were dumped into it, and divers have recovered field guns, ammunition wagons and other material since, some of it now in the Tsumeb museum. Two cichlid species live in the lake and are found in very few other places.

Background

Of the two permanent natural lakes in Namibia, Otjikoto is the smaller, 102 metres across and declared a national monument in 1972. It lies 20 kilometres north-west of Tsumeb, 100 metres from the B1 road. The San called it Gaisis, meaning ugly, and the Herero name Otjikoto means deep hole; the Oshikoto Region takes its name from the lake. Francis Galton and Carl Johan Andersson, the first Europeans to see it, came upon it in 1851 while looking for Lake Ngami. The botanist Kurt Dinter visited in 1911 and collected plants unknown until then, among them a grass of the genus Rottboellia. The lake narrows into a side cave system, so its exact depth cannot be determined.

Source: Wikipedia, "Otjikoto Lake"

What's there

• The sinkhole - a collapsed cavern about a hundred metres across.
• The green water - deep water sounded to over sixty metres.
• The 1915 dump - artillery and equipment recovered by divers over the years.
• The endemic cichlids - fish species restricted to this and a few nearby waters.

When to go

March to October is the cooler window. The site keeps daytime hours. Midday light shows the water colour best.

What to expect

Viewing is from the rim and swimming is not permitted. The site is small and takes half an hour. Recovered artefacts are in Tsumeb, not here.

Nearby

Tsumeb is southeast, and the Hoba meteorite is east.

Key facts