The Sua Pan or Sowa Pan is a large natural topographic depression within the

Makgadikgadi The Makgadikgadi Pan (Tswana pronunciation ), a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikg ...

region of

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

. It is located near the village of ''

Sowa The SoWa Art & Design District (South of Washington) in the South End of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, is a community of artist studios, contemporary art galleries, boutiques, design showrooms, and restaurants. Once an area of neglected warehouse ...

'', whose name means

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

in the language of the San. The Sua salt pan is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being

Nxai Pan Nxai Pan is a large salt pan topographic depression which is part of the larger Makgadikgadi Pans in northeastern Botswana. It lies on the old Pandamatenga Trail, which until the 1960s was used for overland cattle drives. The area is speckled wi ...

and

Nwetwe Pan The Ntwetwe Pan is a large salt pan within the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. The Ntwetwe is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being Nxai Pan and Sua Pan. Ntwetwe Pan is now a seasonal lake with filling occurri ...

. The Sua Pan was first described to the European world by

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

, pursuant to his explorations in this region. Significant

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

recoveries have been made within the Nwetwe Pan, featuring Stone-Age tools from peoples who lived in this area when a large year-round lake occupied the Sua and Nwetwe Pans. The Brines of Sua Pan being one of the largest playa lakes in the world spans approximately 24000 square kilometers. While

sodium chloride Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35.45 g ...

is the prime constituent, there are many other salts found within this area such as

sodium carbonate Sodium carbonate, , (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions ...

, sodium bicarbonate,

sodium sulfate Sodium sulfate (also known as sodium sulphate or sulfate of soda) is the inorganic compound with formula Na2SO4 as well as several related hydrates. All forms are white solids that are highly soluble in water. With an annual production of 6 milli ...

, and minor amounts of

potassium chloride Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a salt ...

(

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

). Currently, Sua Pan is a seasonal lake; it fills with water during the Summer rainy season and retains water until April or May. Among the more successful wildlife conservation projects in Botswana was the community-initiated

Nata Bird Sanctuary The Nata Bird Sanctuary, the only protected reserve in the northeastern periphery of Sowa Pan in Botswana, is a community-managed project, with assistance from the Nata Conservation Committee and national and international organizations. Founded i ...

in the northeast of this area. It opened in 1993 and was awarded that year the "Tourism for Tomorrow Award" for the Southern Hemisphere. It is supported by members of four nearby villages, who have helped make it a success. One of the tributaries of the Sua Pan is the Mosetse River. The village of

Mosetse Mosetse is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located along the road from Francistown to Nata. The population was 1,661 in 2001 census. Mosetse lies along the Mosetse River, which ultimately discharges to the Sua Pan, a part of t ...

is named for it and lies along the river.

Industry

Sua Pan is also the site of

(soda ash) mining company Botash. The company is half owned by the Botswana government and produces over 300,000 tonnes of soda ash and 450,000 tonnes of salt per year. In addition to producing sodium carbonate, the mine also produces

halite Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, p ...

and sodium bicarbonate salts. The mine uses a variation of the

Solvay process The Solvay process or ammonia-soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na2CO3). The ammonia-soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the 1860s ...

to produce their soda ash and byproducts.

Transport

Sua Pan is the western terminus of the

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

–Sua Pan 174.5 km

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

Sources

* David Livingstone (1868) ''Missionary Travels and Researches in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

: Including a Sketch of Sixteen Years' Residence in the Interior of Africa'', Harper Publishers.
C.Michael Hogan (2008) ''Makgadikgadi, The Megalithic Portal''
ed. A. Burnham * Bryan Robert Davies and Keith F. Walker (1986), ''The

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

of River Systems'', Springer, 733 pages, , .

Footnotes

{{coord, -20.75, 25.95, dim:100000_region:BW, display=title Salt flats of Botswana Makgadikgadi Pan Central District (Botswana)

Industry

Transport

See also

Sources

Footnotes