Lake Katwe Salt Works
Lake Katwe Salt Works
Lake Katwe happens to be a saltwater lake. It is an ancient lake in the south-western part of Uganda in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The lake water is served by streams and without any outlet, hence making it a salty lake with intense evaporation during the dry season, and has got concentration of minerals in the hyper saline water.
How do crater lakes come about?
Violent volcanic explosions are called explosion craters. About 8000- 10000 years ago, these geographic features were formed by volcanic activity.
When molten lava from the earth’s crust tries to escape through a blocked vent or fissure, it uses a lot of pressure.
This pressure forces the surface, leaving behind a wide depression called a crater. The debris from the explosion falls on the sides around the crater, forming a realm of volcanic pile. This kind of explosion is called a violent volcanic explosion.
When time passes by, the depressions are later filled with water to form a crater lake. These same volcanic processes are responsible for the formation of most of the crater lakes in western Uganda.
These crater lakes are also called extinct volcanoes; however, a few still release sulfurous gas smells, meaning an eruption can occur at any time and cause great danger to the neighbors.
There are three major crater lakes that you can explore during your western Uganda tours: Lake Katwe in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bunyaruguru Craters on the magnificent Kichwamba escarpment, and Nandali- Kasende in Kibale National Park.
Katwe Salt Lake
Katwe salt lake is located north of Mweya peninsula. The craters in Queen Elizabeth National Park are the most exalted craters in western Uganda.
When visiting, you can also engage in the eye-catching crater drive of about 27km, with the attractive crater lakes like Katwe and Nyamunuka.
Crater lakes in Queen Elizabeth National Park provide a good hiking ground within Queen Elizabeth National Park, like around Nyamunuka crater, where you can watch flamingos, warthogs, and other animals.
The reason as to why Lake Katwe is salty, Lake Katwe has a number of water tributaries that bring in water; inlets. However, it has no out lets. This is the main reason also as to why ocean water is saline too. During the dry season, there is a lot of evaporation that makes the salt solution concentrated to make salt rocks.
However, this activity of salt mining at Katwe Crater Lake has lost its value. This is because other salt mines have been discovered in many other countries. It was a lucrative economic activity for the residents of Katwe and Katunguru some years back. Salt from Lake Katwe was also exported to Congo and Rwanda before salt was discovered in other parts of east Africa.
How is salt mined from the acidic lake?
Salt production at Lake Katwe in Queen Elizabeth national park is high during the dry season; January to march and July to September are the peak seasons for salt mining. With evaporation in the dry season, the saline water of Lake Katwe concentrates, making a hyper-saline solution that forms salt.
The women collect the crusted salt formed on the surface. It is clear and is the salt that is filtered to make table salt. Men, on the other hand, shovel the salt blocks from the bottom of the lake. This is done at the shallow end of the lake.
The mines are separated with wooden walkways. The salt is extracted in large blocks. The highly crystallized salt is used for human consumption, and the dirty, muddy salt is sold as salt licks for cows. The muddy salt is also sold at a cheap price because it is used for tenderizing meat and beans locally in Uganda.
Salt mining is not an easy activity
The salt miners stay around the mines all day long under the hot sun and the foul smell from the evaporating saline water. Since the salt is in the depression, the temperature drops so low during the sunny season.
The salty water in Lake Katwe is toxic and very dangerous to the reproductive health of the workers; both women and men. Women put flour in their private parts to avoid the toxic water entering them, while men put on condoms to avoid the water affecting their manhood.
It is said that the salty water from Lake Katwe can make a man impotent and a woman barren despite the endeavors these miners make to prevent sexual problems. These problems facing the salt miners in Katwe have not stopped the mining process; it is their only source of income.
A visit to Katwe salt lake only takes half a day.
Visiting the salt works at Katwe is a half-day itinerary during the tour in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The guide helps you to get some important information about salt mining and the history of the area from the miners.
Salt mining is the main economic activity for the Katwe area. However, it is not lucrative anymore as it used to be back in the days. The miners still have very poor standards because the money they get from salt mining is not enough.
On our Uganda Safaris, you can support these communities by buying the crafts from the local people. These crafts are made by the local people with a lot of love and are displayed on the roadside to be sold to the visitors. This is just another way to supplement the salt mining job.
What else is around Lake Katwe apart from salt mines
- Culture
- Craft making
- Vegetation and animals along the way
- Living and lifestyle of the locals of Katwe town.
To note, there used to be a factory operating at Katwe to process the salt. The salt at Lake Katwe has toxic chemicals that spoiled the tubes in the factory. Today, the German salt factory lies in ruins at Katwe salt lake. If the salt spoiled the metal tubes in the German factory, what about the humans who go for mining with no protective gear?
