Lake Chad Article

Lake Chad summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Lake Chad.

Lake Chad, Lake, west-central Africa. Located at the juncture of the boundaries of Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, the lake covered 9,900 sq mi (25,600 sq km) in the mid-20th century. Its water level has since dropped—owing to severe drought, the desertification of the surrounding Sahel region, and irrigation projects—and, by the beginning of the 21st century, the lake had shrunk to 580 sq mi (1,500 sq km). The lake is fed by the Chari River.