Lake Manyara is a shallow lake in the Natron-Manyara-Balangida branch of the East African Rift in Manyara Region in Tanzania.
The lake is in a closed basin with no outflow. It is fed by underground springs and by several permanent streams and rivers that drain the surrounding Ngorongoro Highlands, but the vast majority of the inflow (over 99%) comes from rainfall.
At its maximum, during the wet season, the lake is 40 km wide by 15 km with a maximum depth of 3.7 m
Lake Manyara is a soda or alkaline lake with a pH near 9.5 , and it is also high in dissolved salts. The water becomes increasingly brackish in the dry season as water evaporates and salts accumulate.
