Ba Bể Lake (; Ba means Three, Bể is from the

Tày language Tày or Thổ (a name shared with the unrelated Thổ and Cuoi languages) is the major Tai language of Vietnam, spoken by more than a million Tày people in Northeastern Vietnam. Distribution *Vietnam: northern provinces (including Cao Ban ...

word ''pé'', meaning "lake") is the largest natural lake in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It is located in Nam Mẫu commune, Ba Bể district, Bắc Kạn Province in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

region of the country. Having been formed approximately 200 million years ago during the

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

, the lake is surrounded by

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cliffs, which in turn are covered by

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

s. The lake comprises three zones named Pé Lầm, Pé Lù, and Pé Lèng. Three

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s, named Năng, Tả Han, and Nam Cường, are the main inflows of the lake. The Năng river enters the lake through a large

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

called Đầu Đẳng. In the lake there are also three islands, named Án Mã, Khẩu Cúm, and Po Gia Mải (literally "Widow's Island"). Ba Bể Lake is a featured geographical science and is a

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

reservoir. It is a part of the Ba Bể National Park. It is home to a range of animals and plants.

The legend of Ba Bể Lake

Legend has it that there was a poor old lady visiting the local village. Villagers distrusted her for she seemed dirty and ugly-looking. Fortunately, she was eventually assisted by a good-hearted mother and her son. The truth was that the old lady turned out to be a fairy. She told the mother and son that the village and surrounding areas were about to be struck by a

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

. Despite her warnings, no one believed her, except for the mother and son, who began to build a boat. The next night, a terrible rainstorm began to engulf the village. The mother and son, who had prepared their boat beforehand, survived and saved many people from drowning. The village was subsequently submerged in water and gradually formed into the current Ba Bể Lake.Sự tích hồ Ba Bể
/ref> BacKan-HoBaBe map

References

External links

Ba Be Lake in UNESCO website
Lakes of Vietnam Landforms of Bắc Kạn province Ramsar sites in Vietnam {{Vietnam-geo-stub