African Lake-Filled Crater Turned Into Giant Silver 'Mirror' Thanks to Rare Phenomenon – Earth from Space

In this image taken by an astronaut in 2024, Lake Iro in Chad appears like a large, round silver mirror as sunlight bounces off its surface and travels into space. (Image credit: NASA/ISS)

This stunning astronaut photograph shows a rare phenomenon known as a 'sun flare' that turns a potential lake in a meteorite crater into a vast silver mirror in the heart of Africa.

Lake Iro, known locally as Lac Iro, is a body of water approximately 12 kilometers wide located in Chad, about 100 kilometers north of the border with the Central African Republic. The lake is located in the heart of Africa's Sahel region, a vast savannah that separates the Sahara Desert and the rainforests of Central Africa.

Iro is partly surrounded by the Bahr Salamat River, which is about 200 km long and branches off into the lake. According to NASA's Earth Observatory, the river is known for its exceptional windiness, especially where it curves around the southern coast of Iro.