Phoksundo Lake, also known as Shey Phoksundo Lake, is an alpine fresh water oligotrophic lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

's Shey Phoksundo National Park

Shey Phoksundo National Park

Shey Phoksundo National Park is the largest and only trans-Himalayan National Park in Nepal. It covers an area of in the districts of Dolpa and Mugu in the northwestern part of the country....

, located at an altitude of 3611.5 m (11,848.8 ft) above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

 in the Dolpa District

Dolpa District

-Geography:Dolpa is the largest district of Nepal covering 5.36% of the total landmass of the country. Located between 28°24’ N - 29°43’ N latitude, and 82°24’ E - 83°38’ E longitude, the elevation in Dolpa ranges from above sea level...

. Phoksundo Lake is 494 ha (1.9 sq mi) in size with a water volume of 409000000 m³ (14,443,698,481 cu ft) and a discharge of 3.715 m3/s. In 2004, a survey by the Department of Hydrology and Meterology measured the maximum depth of the lake at 145 m (475.7 ft).

In September 2007, Phoksundo Lake has been designated a Ramsar site.

On the lake' southern end, the village of Ringmo

Ringmo

Ringmo is a traditional village in Dolpo in the Dolpa District of Nepal, with a seasonal population of about 200. The people are mostly of Tibetan ethnicity, are of the Bönpo faith, and engage in trade, yak herding and tourism. It sits on the landslide dam that formed Phoksundo Lake at about 3660 m...

 sits on the 30,000-40,000 year old landslide dam

Landslide dam

A landslide dam, debris dam, or barrier lake is a natural damming of a river by some kind of mass wasting: landslide, debris flow, rock avalanche or volcano. If it is caused by earthquake, it may also be called a quake lake. Some landslide dams are as high as the largest existing artificial dam...

 that formed the lake. Past the dam, the waters of the lake plunge over a 167 meter tall waterfall.

Religious significance

There are more than 20 stupa

Stupa

A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....

 in the southern belt, and one gompa

Gompa

Gompa and ling are Buddhist ecclesiastical fortifications of learning, lineage and sadhana , located in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Bhutan...

 in the eastern side of the lake, where annual prayers and worship are carried out. Traditional Tibetan culture

Tibetan culture

Tibetan culture developed under the influence of a number of factors. Contact with neighboring countries and cultures- including Nepal, India and China - have influenced the development of Tibetan culture, but the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinctive local...

 prevails in upper Dolpo

Dolpo

Dolpo is a high-altitude culturally Tibetan region in the upper part of the Dolpa District of western Nepal, bordered in the north by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Part of the region lies in Shey Phoksundo National Park...

; Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 and Bon-po are prevalent in lower Dolpo, including Ringmo village.