Keenjhar Lake ( sd, ڪینجھر ڍنڍ) commonly called Malik Lake ( ur, کلری Malik , sd, Maik ڍنڍ ) is located in
Thatta District
Thatta District ( sd, ٺٽو ضلعو, ur, ) is located in the southern area, locally called ''Laar'', of the Subdivisions of Pakistan#Provinces and territories, province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its capital is Thatta. It is home to a large necropo ...
of
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
the province of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. It is situated about from the city of
Thatta
Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...
. It is the largest fresh water lake in Pakistan and an important source of drinking water for
Thatta District
Thatta District ( sd, ٺٽو ضلعو, ur, ) is located in the southern area, locally called ''Laar'', of the Subdivisions of Pakistan#Provinces and territories, province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its capital is Thatta. It is home to a large necropo ...
and Karachi city. Through the construction of a bund on the eastern side, it is said that the lake was formed by the union of two lakes: Sonehri and Keenjhar.
Keenjhar Lake has been declared a
ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
wildlife sanctuary
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
. It provides a favorable habitat of winter migratory birds like
ducks
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
,
geese
A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...
,
flamingos
Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbean) ...
,
cormorants
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...
,
wader
245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
s,
herons
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
,
egrets
Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same buil ...
,
ibises
The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek wo ...
,
terns
Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...
,
coots
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...
and
gulls
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
. It has been observed as a breeding area of the
black-crowned night heron
The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...
, the
cotton pygmy goose
The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal (''Nettapus coromandelianus'') is a small perching duck which breeds in Asia, Southeast Asia extending south and east to Queensland where they are sometimes called white-quilled pygmy goose. They are among t ...
,
purple swamphen The purple swamphen has been split into the following species:
* Western swamphen, ''Porphyrio porphyrio'', southwest Europe and northwest Africa
* African swamphen, ''Porphyrio madagascariensis'', sub-Saharan continental Africa and Madagascar
* Gr ...
, and
pheasant-tailed jacana
The pheasant-tailed jacana (''Hydrophasianus chirurgus'') is a jacana in the monotypic genus ''Hydrophasianus''. Like all other jacanas, they have elongated toes and nails that enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their p ...
.Ramsar Sites in Sindh /ref>
Keenjhar Lake is a popular tourist resort. Many people from
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
and
Thatta
Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...
visit to enjoy picnics, swimming, fishing, and boating.
The famous folklore of
Noori Jam Tamachi
''Noori Jam Tamachi'' ( sd, نوري ڄام تماچي) is a famous tale of Prince Jam Tamachi's falling in love with the charming fisherwoman Noori. Noori makes Jam happy with her perfect surrender and obedience which causes him to raise her abo ...
who was a fisherwoman, is connected to the lake. There is a shrine in the middle of the lake marking Noori's grave, which is visited devotees.
See also
*
List of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan
This page shows the Province-wise list of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan According to the International Commission on Large Dams73 dams and reservoirsin Pakistan are over in height. Tarbela Dam is the largest earth-filled dam in the world a ...
*
Karachi Bulk Water Supply Project
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
*
Indus Basin Project
The Indus Basin Project is a water control project that resulted from a treaty, Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 that guaranteed that Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River independent from upstream control ...
*
List of lakes in Pakistan
Pakistan is home to many natural and man-made lakes and reservoirs. The largest lake in Pakistan is the Manchar Lake. The lake is spread over an area of over .
The highest lakes in Pakistan are the Paristan Lake and Shimshal Lake, which both ar ...