Lesotho: Fossil Algae Show a Lake Once Existed On Lesotho’s Mafadi Summit but It Vanished About 150 Years Ago

Lesotho is a small, land-locked, mountainous country located in the middle of South Africa. Its Eastern Lesotho Highlands are often referred to as the region’s “water tower” because they receive some of the highest rainfall amounts in southern Africa, providing water to South Africa and electricity to Lesotho through the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

Despite this abundance of rainfall, and although the country has many wetland habitats, there are surprisingly few natural lakes. Researchers…