Kandawgyi Lake is one of two major 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,...

s in Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

, Burma (Myanmar). Located east of the Shwedagon Pagoda, the lake is artificial; water from Inya Lake

Inya Lake

Inya Lake is the largest lake in Yangon, Burma , a popular recreational area for Yangonites, and a famous location for romance in popular culture...

 is channelled through a series of pipes to Kandawgyi Lake. It was created to provide a clean water supply to the city during the British colonial administration

Burma Province

British rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the Anglo-Burmese Wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence...

. It is approximately 5 miles (8 km) in circumference, and has a depth of 20 to 45 inches (50 to 115 cms).

The 150-acre (60.7-hectare) lake is surrounded by the 110-acre (44.5-hectare) Kandawgyi Nature Park, and the 69.25-acre (28-hectare) Yangon Zoological Gardens

Yangon Zoological Gardens

The Yangon Zoological Gardens is the oldest and the second largest zoo in Myanmar. Located immediately north of downtown Yangon near Kandawgyi Lake, the recreational park also includes a museum of natural history, an aquarium and an amusement park. With a collection of nearly 200 species and...

, which consists of a zoo, an aquarium and an amusement park.

The lake itself is bounded by Natmauk Street to its north and east, Bahan Street to its west, and Kanyeiktha Street to its south. Along the eastern shorelines of the lake is the famous Karaweik

Karaweik

Karaweik or Karaweik Hall is a palace on the eastern shore of Kandawgyi Lake, Yangon, Burma. The barge was designed by Burmese architect U Ngwe Hlaing, who based it on the Pyigyimon royal barge. Construction began in June 1972 and it was finished in October 1974...

, a concrete replica of a Burmese royal barge built in 1972. It houses a buffet restaurant today.

On 16 April 2010, three bombs exploded in a park by the lake in the afternoon during the Burmese New Year festival

Thingyan

Thingyan is the Burmese New Year Water Festival and usually falls around mid-April . It is a Buddhist festival celebrated over a period of four to five days culminating in the new year...

; 24 people were killed and 60 injured.