Lesson 65: The Tonle Sap: A Unique Lake System

🏛️ Fact & Info Desk Lesson 65: Cambodian Geography & Nature (B1) Research Mission: Read this article about the Tonle Sap lake. Pay close attention to the unique "flow reversal" phenomenon and why the lake is so important for food in Cambodia. Hover over the underlined words for definitions. Geographical Brief: The Tonle Sap Ecosystem The Tonle Sap is not just the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia; it is a unique and vital ecosystem that is often called the "beating heart" of Cambodia. Its most remarkable feature is a rare natural phenomenon involving its river system. Most of the year, the Tonle Sap River flows south from the lake into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, during the rainy season (monsoon) from June to October, the huge volume of water coming down the Mekong River causes the Tonle Sap River to reverse its flow. Water is pushed *back up* into the lake. This makes the lake expand enormously, growing up to five time…