Lake Tritriva is a volcanic

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in southwest-central

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, in the region of Vàkinankàratra, located near the village of Belazao. In a distance of 15 km from

Antsirabe Antsirabe () is the third largest city in Madagascar and the capital of the Vakinankaratra region, with a population of 265,018 in 2014. In Madagascar, Antsirabe is known for its relatively cool climate (like the rest of the central region), it ...

, it is easy to reach by the National Road 34. There's a strict

Fady (taboo) In Malagasy culture, ''fady'' () are a wide range of cultural prohibitions or taboos. People, places, actions or objects may be the subject of ''fady'', which vary by region within Madagascar. The taboos are believed to be enforced by supernatural ...

for this lake and swimming is not allowed. The lake fills an extinct crater in a region notable also for the presence of many

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

s. It sits in the vent of an oval volcanic cone enclosed in vertical

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

cliffs. The rim of the cone is about above sea level, while the surface of the lake is approximately below the rim. The lake's water level drops during the rainy season and rises when the monsoon rains have ceased.

Gallery

File:Lake Tritriva 02.jpg, File:Lac Tritriva 3.jpg, File:Lac Tritriva 6.jpg, File:Roodborsttapuit, Madagaskar.JPG,

Madagascar stonechat The Madagascar stonechat (''Saxicola sibilla'') is a species of stonechat, endemic to Madagascar. It is a small bird, closely similar to the African stonechat in both plumage and behaviour, but distinguished from it by the more extensive black o ...

found at Lake Tritriva File:Madagaskartorenvalk 01.JPG, Malagasy kestrel found at Lake Tritriva

References

Lakes of Madagascar Volcanoes of Madagascar Extinct volcanoes {{Vakinankaratra-geo-stub