Largest Lakes in DR Congo

Geography

Lake Tanganyika is an ancient lake, one of only twenty more than a million years old. Its three basins, which in periods with lower water levels were separate lakes, are of different ages. The central lake began to form 9–12 million years ago (Mya), the northern 7–8 Mya and the southern 2–4 Mya.

Today Lake Tanganyika is situated within the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, and is confined by the mountainous walls of the valley. It is the largest rift lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake by volume in the world. It is the deepest lake in Africa and holds the greatest volume of fresh water on the continent, accounting for 16% of the world's available fresh water.

History

It is thought that early Homo sapiens were making an impact on the region during the Stone Age. The time period of the Middle Stone Age to Late Stone Age is described as an age of advanced hunter-gatherers.

In the mid–19th century, Swahili Arab traders from Zanzibar established a caravan route from Bagamoyo via Tabora to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika. They brought sailing dhows to navigate the lake and traded in slaves, ivory, guns and cotton. Chief among these traders was Tippu Tip in the second half of the 19th century, who established a state west of the lake.

The first known Westerners to find the lake were the British explorers Richard Burton and John Speke, in 1858. They located it while searching for the source of the Nile River.

Geography

Lake Kivu is approximately 42 km (26 mi) long and 50 km (31 mi) at its widest. Its irregular shape makes measuring its precise surface area difficult; it has been estimated to cover a total surface area of some 2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi), making it Africa's eighth largest lake. The surface of the lake sits at a height of 1,460 metres (4,790 ft) above sea level. This lake has a chance of suffering a limnic eruption every 1000 years. The lake has a maximum depth of 475 m (1,558 ft) and a mean depth of 220 m (722 ft), making it the world's twentieth deepest lake by maximum depth, and the thirteenth deepest by mean depth.

The lake bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area.

Geography

Lake Edward lies at an elevation of 920 metres (3,020 ft), is 77 kilometres (48 mi) long by 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide at its maximum points, and covers a total surface area of 2,325 square kilometres (898 mi2), making it the 15th-largest on the continent. The lake is fed by the Nyamugasani River, the Ishasha River, the Rutshuru River, the Ntungwe River, and the Rwindi River. Lake George to the northeast empties into it via the Kazinga Channel. Lake Edward empties to the north via the Semliki River into Lake Albert, where is joins the White Nile, ultimately flowing to the Nile.

The western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley towers up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above the western shore of the lake. The southern and eastern shores are flat lava plains.

History

Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley first saw the lake in 1888, during the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition. The lake was named in honour of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, son of then British monarch Queen Victoria, and later to become King Edward VII.

In 1973, Uganda and the then Zaire (DRC) renamed it Lake Idi Amin after Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. After his overthrow in 1979, it recovered its former name.

In 2014, the lake was the center of an oil dispute. SOCO International entered the premises of the Virunga National Park where the lake is situated to prospect for oil. However, villagers and workers who attempted to stop the oil company from entering the area were beaten up and even kidnapped and tortured.

Ecology

Lake Edward is home to many species of fish, including populations of Bagrus docmak, Oreochromis niloticus, Oreochromis leucostictus, and over 50 species of Haplochromis and other haplochromine species, of which only 25 are formally described. Fishing is an important activity among local residents. Fauna living on the banks of the lake – including chimpanzees, elephants, crocodiles, and lions – are protected by the national parks. The area is also home to many perennial and migratory bird species.

In the 1970s, Lake Edward held a population of around 29,000 hippos in and around the area of the lake. But due to an increase in poaching over the years, there has been a 95% decline in the population, with the population plummeting to only a few hundred by the end of 2006.

Location

The lake drains to the south through the Fimi River into the Kwah and Congo Rivers. Known until 1972 as Lake Leopold II (French: Lac Léopold II; Dutch: Leopold II-meer) after Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Mai-Ndombe means "black water" in Kikongo. The lake is of irregular shape and ranges in depth from only 5 meters (mean) to 10 meters (maximum). Covering approximately 890 square miles (2,300 square km), it is known to double or triple in size during the rainy season. Its waters are oxygenated throughout their depth and the pH ranges from 4.2 to 5.5. Low, forested shores surround it with dense, humid equatorial rainforest prevailing to the north and a mosaic of forest and savanna to the south.