Lake
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Lake Chad Waters
Straddling the borders of Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon, Lake Chad is one of West-Central Africa's most historic freshwater wetlands. Once an immense inland sea, its maze of floating reed islands, marshy papyrus channels, and shifting archipelagos served as the cradle of the ancient Kanem-Borno Empire. Fishermen and island villagers recount centuries-old legends of water spirits, ghostly pirogues gliding silently through morning fogs, and underwater bells ringing from sunken settlements lost during historical water fluctuations.