Lakes, Lagoons, Waterfalls, and Wetlands of Liberia

Liberia’s still and slow-moving waters include coastal lagoons, lakes, marshes, swamps, floodplains, and inland wetlands that sustain wildlife and human livelihoods.

Lake Piso and Lake Shepherd

Lake Piso in Grand Cape Mount is Liberia’s largest lake-like water body and is described more precisely in some technical sources as an open coastal lagoon. Lake Shepherd lies in Maryland County near the Atlantic coast.

Five Ramsar sites

Liberia’s designated wetlands of international importance are Lake Piso, Marshall, Mesurado, Kpatawee, and Gbedin. The EPA notes their importance for fishing, farming, tourism, flood reduction, coastal protection, carbon storage, and biodiversity.

Waterfalls and local knowledge

Kpatawee is among Liberia’s best-known waterfall landscapes. Future records will document additional waterfalls and pools only from reliable sources and community knowledge shared with permission. Sensitive ecological locations will not be published in ways that increase exploitation.

Current pressures

Construction, waste disposal, deforestation, sand extraction, erosion, and altered drainage threaten many wetlands. Legal designation does not by itself guarantee effective protection.

Sources and verification

• Liberian Hydrological Services: River Basins Report
• Liberia EPA: designated wetlands
• Convention on Wetlands: Liberia

← Return to Land, Waters, Boundaries, and Natural Resources

Measurements, legal designations, and resource data can change. Liberia Civic dates its sources and distinguishes confirmed facts from proposals and estimates.