The continent’s various fresh-water lake systems are one of its most remarkable features. Which lakes in Africa are the biggest in terms of size? Read on to find out the largest lakes in Africa.
A basin contains a lake, which is a body of water. Its environs are mostly made up of land and rivers that serve as inputs or outputs. Throughout the continent, they offer a spectacular and welcoming home to a diverse ecosystem with a wide variety of animal and plant life.
Top 10 Largest Lakes In Africa
10. Lake Edward (2,325 square kilometers)
Lake Edward is the 10th largest lake in Africa. With a length of little over 100 kilometers (60 miles), the Congo River is Africa’s tiniest river. At 2,325 square kilometers in size, it’s the largest moon. The depth of the moon’s bowl is around 17 meters.
Many liquid magma proof fountains may be seen around the source. This body of water is home to a wide range of fish and aquatic animals. They include Bagrus Docmak, Oreochromis Niloticus, and Oreochromis Leucostictus, among many more.
On the banks of the body of water, you may see wild animals such as tigers, chimpanzees, and crocodiles as well as elephants. They’re protected since they are wild creatures.
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9. Kivu Lake (2,700 square kilometer)
The Republic of Congo is in charge of Lake Kivu. Kivu is a massive lake in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sandwiched between Rwanda and the majority-rule country of Congo. The river has a 2,700 square kilometer surface area and a 240-meter width.
It’s built in a volcanic setting where marine life has flourished to an incredible degree. Goma’s main center is located next to a river. When it spread in 2002, it left 400,000 people in dire need and claimed the lives of 147 individuals.
So the volcanic activity in Kivu may have produced dangerously high concentrations of cadmium oxide and methane, which is toxic to humans when consumed. Despite the danger, the man-made lake and mountain have become a well-liked explorer goal.
8. Nasser Lake (5,250 square kilometers)
A body of water called Nasser Lake hidden beyond the Aswan High Dam in Egypt lies this magnificent repository. As one of the world’s largest, the dam spans the Nile. Lake Nasser is a well-known tourist destination in Africa because of the ancient Egyptian ruins that lie under the lake’s outer layer.
South-central Egypt is the most common location to find a repository bowl. It makes occasional forays into Sudan’s territory. The surface area is 5250 square kilometers, while the depth is 25.2 meters over the whole.
It’s the Nile Perch, one of the repository’s most well-known fish species, that helps drive up demand for the supplies.
7. Albert Lake (5,300 square kilometers)
Albert is a Great Lake in Africa. Formerly known as Mobutu Sese Seko, Albert Nyanza is the current name of the lake. The supply spans an area of 5,300 square kilometers and is 25 meters deep over the whole. There’s a lot of water in that dish.
As far as volume goes, it is Africa’s sixth largest and the world’s twenty-seventh largest. In the north, the Blue Mountains rise, while in the south, swamps cover most of Albert’s territory. Because it’s a part of the Nile structure, it’ll attract fish to the area in which it lands.
Victoria Nile and Semliki River are major inputs to the repository.
6. Lake Kariba (5,580 square kilometers)
The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to Lake Kariba. The artificial supply from Lake Kariba is the largest in the world. On the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, it’s 1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean.
It has a surface area of 5,580 square kilometers and a depth of 29 meters. Many fish assortments, such as Kapenta, have been offered to support a commercial fishery. The soil became incredibly rich due to flora in space being gathered by using resources not derived from the water body during development.
As a result, the supply’s surroundings are likely home to a wide range of wildlife including crocodiles and hippos.
5. Turkana lake (6,405 square kilometers)
It may be located in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia and is part of the Turkana Lake basin. It’s the largest stable desert water body in the world. This is the continent’s biggest saline storage facility. Neither people nor livestock should drink the water due to its salinity.
The reservoir has a total land area of 6,405 km out of which 2.44 per cent is the salinity level. The Omo River, which has its source in Ethiopia, provides the vast bulk of the country’s water. The reservoir’s tributaries are teeming with crocodiles, of course.
The rocky beaches are home to a variety of animals and insects, like carpet vipers, scorpions and more.
4. Volta Lake (8,502 square kilometers)
In Ghana, the manmade Lake Volta serves as a reservoir and a source of power that runs parallel to the Prime Meridian. With an area of 8,502 sq. km, it is the continent’s second-largest man-made reservoir by volume.
The dam controls the flow of the Blacks and Whites Volta rivers. In all, it has a depth of 18.8 feet and a coastline that extends over 4,800 kilometers. The Akosombo Dam helps to cool completely inside Ghana’s borders.
3. Lake Malawi (29,600 square kilometers)
Lake Malawi is the largest lake in Malawi. A must-see while in the area, this is among the most impressive reservoirs. Located in Tanzania, Lake Nyasa, sometimes referred to as Lago Niassa, is the world’s 9th largest lake and Africa’s 3rd biggest.
The aquatic body has an area of 29,600 sq kilometers and is 292m deep on average. There are more freshwater fish in the water than any other in the world, according to legend.
There are a number of animals that dwell along the water’s edge, including crocodiles and hippopotamus.
2. Lake Tanganyika (32,900 square kilometers)
Lake Tanganyika is the second largest lake in Africa. Many people may not be aware that Tanganyika is Africa’s deepest point reservoir. Tanganyika translates as “great lake spreading like a basin” in English. It is the second-deepest lake in the world after Lake Baikal in Russia.
Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia share the lake, making it one of Africa’s Great Lakes. A surface area of 32,900 sq kilometers and a catchment area of 231,000 sq kilometers combine to make up the water catchment area.
The Malagarasi and Ruzizi rivers provide significant affluents to Tanganyika’s water systems.
1. Lake Victoria (59,947 square kilometers)
Lake Victoria is a large body of water located with a total of 59,947 kilometers squared make up the land area. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake. Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda are the nations that make up its basin.
The coverage area measures 169,588 square kilometers, with a limit of breadth and length of 359 and 337 kilometers, respectively. Despite its size, it is not deep, measuring 81 feet at its deepest point and 41 meters at its average depth.
Sondu Miriu, River Sio, Nzoia, Migori, Nyando Yala, and Mogusi are the most important inflow rivers in Kenya. The river Nile, that empties into Uganda near Jinja, is the only outflow from the water body.
