page_title: Tsimanampetsotsa National Park
section_title: Tsimanampetsotsa Lake and associated shore zone
hierarchical_section_title: Tsimanampetsotsa National Park / Landscapes / Tsimanampetsotsa Lake and associated shore zone
caption_attribution_description: English: saline flats Lake Tsimanampetsosa
context_page_description: Tsimanampetsotsa National Park also spelt Tsimanampetsotse, and known as Tsimanampetsotsa Nature Reserve is a 432 km² national park on the south-west coast of Madagascar in the region Atsimo-Andrefana. The park is 90 kilometres south of Toliara and 950 kilometres south of the capital, Antananarivo. Route Nationales 10 to Faux Cap passes the park and the nearest airport is at Toliara. The national park contains and is named after Lake Tsimanampetsotsa.
context_section_description: Lake Tsimanampetsotsa is a relatively shallow lake of highly mineralized, moderately alkaline water with salt concentrations approaching that of sea water. There are no fish living in the lake, but invertebrates belonging to four taxonomic groups (Annelida, Gastropoda, Crustacea and Insecta) have been documented. High phosphate concentrations, originating from erosion, are thought to be the main factor limiting the diversity of aquatic fauna. 
  The lake is in a shallow basin and the area covered by water shrinks dramatically in the dry season, resulting in extensive exposed hypersaline flats. Glasswort (Salicornia pachystachya or Arthrocnemum pachystachyum) and other salt-tolerant plant species such as the golden leather fern (Acrostichum aureum) move onto the flats as the water levels recede. The introduced species beach sheoak (Casuarina equisetifolia) can be found in small stands along the east shore as well as a narrow band of Salvadora angustifolia trees.
caption: saline flats Lake Tsimanampetsosa
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