What’s a Lake Doing in the Middle of the Desert?

What’s a Lake Doing in the Middle of the Desert?

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

One place you don’t expect to see waves lapping against the shore is in the middle of a desert. But that’s exactly what’s happening deep inside the United Arab Emirates, where a recently formed lake is nestled into the sand dunes, and a new ecosystem is emerging.

Dave Clark, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey working in the United Arab Emirates, says this lake emerged from the sand a few years ago. “You see local families out here and they’re all just enthralled,” Clark says. “It’s water in the desert, so everybody’s pleased. But it’s definitely water that’s had a human touch to it. People have had their hand in this water, maybe literally.” Here’s how this lake got here: A desalination plant right on the coast pulls in saltwater from the Persian Gulf and makes that water drinkable and usable. The water is then pumped 150 miles inland to the city of Al Ain. The residents there drink it up, bathe with it and then flush it down their drains.