Lake Ahémé is

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

's second largest lake, with an area of in the dry season which expands to in the rainy season. The lake is long and has an average width of . The

Couffo River The Couffo or Kouffo is a river of West Africa. It rises in Togo but runs for much of its 125-kilometer course through Benin, draining into Lake Ahémé. It forms part of the Togo–Benin border and also serves as the border between Kouffo and Zo ...

drains into the swampy north end of the lake, while the 10 km-long Aho Channel connects the lake's southern end to the

Grand-Popo Grand-Popo is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Mono Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 289 square kilometres and as at the 2013 Census had a population of 57,636 people. The term "Grand-Popo" is a Europea ...

Lagoon on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast. This channel flows south during the wet season but reverses direction in the dry season, which causes the salinity of the lake's southern end to increase. The Pedah and the Ayizo are the two main ethnic groups living on the shores of Lake Ahémé. Fishing and agriculture are the main economic activities in the area. In the lake, 71 species of fish have been recorded. The comprising the marshes of the lower Couffo, Lake Ahémé, the Aho Channel and the adjoining coastal lagoon have been designated as a Ramsar site and an Important Bird Area.

References

Aheme Ramsar sites in Benin Important Bird Areas of Benin {{Benin-geo-stub