Lakes of Africa. Great Lakes of Africa. The deepest lake in Africa

The freshwater system of the African continent includes the largest and deepest lakes on the planet. Most of them belong to the Great African Lakes, which are connected with the Nile.

Here is a list of lakes in Africa.

1. Victoria.
2. Tanganyika.
3. Malawi (Nyasu).
4. Albert.
5. Edward.

This, of course, is not all the lakes of Africa, but only the largest. The full list includes 14 titles.

But directly to the number of Great, many geographers include only the following lakes of Africa: Victoria, Edward and Albert. Because only they have a natural outlet to the White Nile. Lake Tanganyika has a natural runoff into the water system of the Congo, and the lake of Malawi is connected with the Zambezi River. All the lakes of Africa (pictured below) have very beautiful natural landscapes.

Lake Victoria

It occupies a huge space. By its size it is quite comparable with the size of the whole state, for example, Ireland. The coastline of the reservoir serves as a boundary at the same time for several African states: Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

The total area of Lake Victoria is estimated at 68 thousand km ² . The length of the water surface is 320 km, and the largest width is 275 km. Victoria refers to one of the deepest lakes of the planet. Its maximum depth is 80 m. Its contribution to replenishing the reservoir with fresh water is made by the full-flow Kagera. Victoria, in turn, gives rise to the Victoria River-Nile.

Now the lake is a reservoir. This status was obtained after the erection in 1954 of the dam Owen Falls, which blocked the Victoria Nile River. As a result of such actions, the natural water level rose by 3 m.

Numerous islands that are scattered all over the water surface serve as a home for a huge variety of birds. The waters of the lake are simply teeming with crocodiles. The area around Victoria serves as a place for many nature reserves and national parks in Africa.

Lake Tanganyika

Tanganyika is not only the largest, but also the deepest lake in Africa. The maximum depth of water in this reservoir reaches 1,432 kilometers, which is only slightly inferior to the famous Baikal. The length of the lake is 650 kilometers, and its width is 80 kilometers.

The shores of Tanganyika serve as a border to four countries at once: Burundi, Tanzania, Congo and Zambia. Replenishment of the lake's water reserve is due to several rivers flowing into it. But Tanganyika is the source only for the Lukuga River.

Lake Tanganyika is quite populated. Here live hippopotamuses, there are crocodiles. Many birds chose it as a permanent habitat. In the waters there are many varieties of fish.

Lake Malawi (Nyasa)

Lake Nyasa or Malawi is quite long and narrow, if you look at it from above. But this does not prevent him from taking the second place of honor in the list of the deepest lakes in Africa. The coasts of Malawi serve as a border area for three African states: Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. The waters of this lake are very rich in fish: there is tilapia, campango and others. Therefore, on its shores there are a lot of fishing settlements. Fisheries are an important part of the local economy.

Part of the lake coast, owned by Malawi, has a fairly developed tourist infrastructure. Transparent waters of Nyasa are absolutely safe for sailing, they will be to the taste and lovers of snorkeling, and water skiing.

It was represented by the largest lakes in Africa, belonging to the network of the Great African Lakes. Further you will get acquainted with other well-known, but much smaller in the area reservoirs of this continent.

Lake Albert

It is located in the eastern part of Africa, on the border of two republics: Congo and Uganda. The total area is 5,600 square kilometers. The coastline of the reservoir has a small number of bays, the coasts for the most part are quite steep.

Lake Albert has a fairly large number of tributaries, but they carry water only in the rainy season. Of the many rivers flowing into it, only two are large: Victoria-Nile and Semliki. At the confluence they form huge deltas, which serve as an excellent habitat for many crocodiles and hippos. Waterfowl feel safe here. The lake is the source for the Albert Nile River.

There are many kinds of fish in the pond (more than 40). These are tiger fish, Nile perch and many others. Also quite developed shipping. The main ports are the port of Butia, owned by Uganda, and Kasenyi, the main port of the Republic of the Congo.

The coast of the island, owned by Uganda, has a well-developed tourist infrastructure: there are various tours, horse riding tours are offered.

Lake Edward

It is located in the central part of Africa, just a few kilometers from the equatorial line. It is a border area for two countries: Uganda and the Republic of the Congo.

Such an unusually sonorous name it received in honor of the eldest son of the royal family of Edward VII.

There is one rather unusual circumstance that makes this lake very unusual. This is one of the extremely small number of water bodies in tropical Africa, where there are absolutely no crocodiles. These toothy monsters in abundance inhabit Lake Albert and the lower reaches of Semliki, but for unknown reasons they do not enter here.

The largest lakes in Africa

The list is headed by Lake Victoria, which has a total area of just over 68,000 km ² . On the second place among the largest lakes of the continent is Lake Tanganyika. The area of this reservoir occupies 34 000 km ² . The top three is closed by Lake Nyasa (Malawi). Its surface is almost 30 000 km ² .

But this is not all lakes in Africa, which are among its largest water bodies.

Lake Chad

This is the fourth largest African lake. The area of this reservoir is 27 000 km ² , but this value is not constant. During the rainy season, it can increase to 50,000 km ² , and in the drought period it can decrease to 11,000 km ² .

The lake has no natural runoff, so the water simply evaporates or leaves in the sandy soil. In the conditions of the incredibly hot climate of the continent with such a water regime, the water in the lake simply must be salty. But Chad is almost completely fresh lake. Its upper layers of water are suitable for drinking, only at the very bottom it is slightly salty. But why do not water layers mix? The answer is pretty simple. To the north-east of the lake there is a Baudela hollow, which is below its level. The pond is connected to it by an underground river, through which the bottom salt waters leave.

Chad is home to many birds. Pelicans and flamingos arrive here for the winter. On its shores live a lot of animals. These are zebras, giraffes, and antelopes. You can enumerate very long. Here you can find a native marine beast - manatee. Until now, it remains a mystery how he could find himself in this fresh lake.

These are the largest lakes in Africa. Other water bodies have significantly smaller areas.

The process of formation of the Great Lakes

And they appeared because of the so-called Great Rifts. The rift valley serves as a bed for most of these reservoirs. Great lakes began to be filled with water almost immediately after their formation.

Rift lakes can be small or large, shallow, or, on the contrary, have quite solid depths, but the only thing that unites them is their outlines. All the lakes formed in this way have a specific elongated shape, which is determined by the outlines of the rifts.