Lake Lalolalo (french: Lac Lalolalo) is a volcanic

crater lake Crater Lake ( Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fill ...

surrounded by jungle to the southwest of the island of Wallis (Uvea) in the Pacific. The largest lake on the island, it lies off Route 1 between the coastal village of Mala'etoli and Ahoa. A small lake, Lake Lano, lies just to the northwest.

Background and history

The lake, almost a perfect circle and the largest of several on the island, is important to local mythology of

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji ...

and to historical disputes over territory. The lake was also mentioned in Father Joseph Henquel's history. There is a rumor that the US military dumped equipment in the lake at the end of World War II. Scuba dives into the lake have found various calibers of dumped World War II era ammunition.

Description

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarke ...

says of it "Lake Lalolalo is the most spectacular of the Wallis crater lakes. The eerie lake is an almost perfect circle with sheer rocky cliffs falling 30m (98ft) down to the inky, 80m (262ft) deep waters." The lake is also described as "circular, with vertical red walls 30 metres high, which make the pea-green water almost inaccessible" Others claim its maximum depth is a little less at 76 metres. The surrounding jungle is inhabited by tropical birds and

flying fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

es which regularly fly low over the lake. The lake has a population of

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s, which many conservationists have been concerned with due to the lake's inaccessibility.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalolalo Lakes of Wallis and Futuna