Largest Lakes in Uganda

Hydrology and limnology

Lake Victoria receives 80 percent of its water from direct rainfall. Average evaporation on the lake is between 2.0 and 2.2 metres (6 ft 7 in and 7 ft 3 in) per year, almost double the precipitation of riparian areas. Lake Victoria receives its water additionally from rivers, and thousands of small streams. The Kagera River is the largest river flowing into this lake, with its mouth on the lake's western shore. Lake Victoria is drained solely by the Nile River near Jinja, Uganda, on the lake's northern shore.

In the Kenya sector, the main influent rivers are the Sio, Nzoia, Yala, Nyando, Sondu Miriu, Mogusi, and Migori. The only outflow from Lake Victoria is the Nile River, which exits the lake near Jinja, Uganda.

Geology

Photojournalist John Reader, writing in his Alan Paton Literary Award-winning Africa: A Biography of a Continent, describes Lake Victoria as being relatively geologically young at about 400,000 years old—having been formed as westward-flowing rivers were backed up "when a fractured block of the Earth's crust tilted along the line of the Great Rift Valley, raising its western edge". A primary study, attempting "fluvial differentiation of the basin of Lake Victoria", draws several relevant tentative conclusions.

History and exploration

The first recorded information about Lake Victoria comes from Arab traders plying the inland routes in search of gold, ivory, other precious commodities, and slaves.

Many Africans tribes lived in the catchment area around the lake. It was first sighted by a European in 1858 when the British explorer John Hanning Speke reached its southern shore while on his journey with Richard Francis Burton to explore central Africa and locate the Great Lakes. Believing he had found the source of the Nile on seeing this "vast expanse of open water" for the first time, Speke named the lake after Queen Victoria.

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.

Geography

Lake Bunyonyi is a body of water in Kabale District and about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of Kabale town. It is the largest and highest of the three small lakes (the others being Lake Mutanda and Lake Mulehe) in the Kigezi highlands that are part of the Nile basin.

The lake was formed about 18,000 years ago by a volcanic eruption blocking a valley in the Rukiga mountains near the present day village of Muko on the north-west tip of the lake. The lake's current outlet is a small stream also in Muko which flows into the Ruvuma swamp (this in turn flows into the Ruhezaminda river that ends at Lake Mutanda). The lake is about 22 km long and 6 km at its widest and at a height of about 1973 m. It is surrounded by mountains that reach heights of 600 m above the lake.

Ecology

Except for water birds, few aquatic animal species are naturally present in this isolated highland lake. Its water is highly stratified with the oxygen limit placed at a depth of about 7 m (23 ft).

Native vertebrates include the De Witte's clawed frog, Lake Victoria clawed frog ("bunyoniensis" form), African clawless otter and spotted-necked otter, but only the first frog is still common in the lake. Four endemic species of Caridina shrimp are found in the lake; there are indications that they might also occur in Lake Mutanda. Originally, there were no fish or crayfish in the lake, but the catfish Clarias liocephalus, Nile tilapia, Singida tilapia, haplochromine cichlids of Lake Victoria origin and red swamp crayfish have been introduced.

Tourism

Lake Bunyonyi is popular for its green and lush terraced hills that are punctuated with a plethora of over 200 bird species. The place combines the art of water birds and some migratory birds. This makes it a perfect ideal for many bird enthusiasts. A dive into the Nyombi swamp reveals a variety of assorted birds. Apart from birdwatching, the place also presents other opportunities. These include sports like swimming as well as boat cruising and riding. The area is also underlined by various hikes and nature walks, all of which offer more than just nature and pleasure. A sense of traditional culture is also felt during the community walks, since one can get stopovers at the Bakiga Cultural museum Archived 2022-12-08 at the Wayback Machine as well as the blacksmith sites.