Lake Victoria

News: A team of international researchers from North America and Kenya has conducted a genetic survey of cyanobacteria in the Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria, Kenya.

About Lake Victoria

• Geographic location- It is situated in East Africa and is bordered by three countries: Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.
• It is the world’s largest tropical lake and the second-largest freshwater lake by surface area after Lake Superior.
• It is the largest lake in the African Great Lakes region.
• Lake Victoria is also known as Victoria Nyanza in Kenya, Nalubaale in Uganda, and Ukerewe in Tanzania.
• It serves as the source of the White Nile, which flows northward and merges with the Blue Nile in Sudan to form the Nile River.
• The lake hosts the world’s largest freshwater fishery, producing 1 million tons of fish annually, employing 200,000 people, and supporting the livelihoods of 4 million people.

About African Great Lakes

Apart from Lake Victoria some other African great lakes are following:

• Lake Tanganyika:
  • It is the second largest lake in eastern Africa.
  • It is the longest freshwater lake in the world and the second deepest after Lake Baikal in Russia.
  • Bordered by Tanzania,Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Zambia.
• Lake Malawi (Nyasa):
  • Africa’s third-largest lake, renowned for its rich biodiversity, especially cichlid fish.
  • Bordered by Malawi, Tanzania, and Mozambique.
  • It is a meromictic lake, meaning that its water layers do not mix.
• Lake Turkana:
  • It stands as Africa’s fourth-largest lake and the largest permanent desert lake in the world.
  • It is designated as the UNESCO World Heritage site and is renowned for its unique biodiversity and cultural significance.
  • It mostly lies in Kenya, extending into Ethiopia.

Note– These lakes are part of the East African Rift System, formed due to tectonic movements over millions of years.