Tonlé Sap Lake
Tonlé Sap Lake or the Great Lake is one of Cambodia's most notable geographic features. During most of the year the lake is fairly small and insignificant. During the monsoon season, however, the Mekong River flows into the lake and it increases in size tenfold flooding nearby fields and forests. The lake becomes the largest lake in Southeast Asia. During this period the lake also becomes extremely abundant with fish and other aquatic life. As the waters recede it leaves rich deposits of sediment throughout the surrounding area that becomes prime agricultural land for the rest of the year. The lake has long been an important source of food for Cambodians.
The Tonle Sap river which connects the lake with the Mekong has the unique feature of reversion its flow twice a year. During the rainy season the water flows from the Mekong into the lake raising its level by up to 10 meter. During the dry season however the Tonle Sap river drains the lake.
The lake fills a depression in the rather flat Mekong delta which was created due to the geological stress induced by the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia.
