Eighteen lakes snake through the arid Ennedi region of Chad to form a breathtaking oasis in the middle of the Sahara Desert. Collectively they are known as the Desert Lakes of Ouianga, which make up the world’s largest permanent freshwater lake system in a desert environment. The first sketches of these lakes date back to 1913, when French colonizers launched a geographic mapping exercise of northern Chad. The exceptional flora and fauna that flourish here are rare, partly due to reduced evaporation of the water thanks to varying mineral composition…
