Everything about Lake Tanganyika totally explained
Lake Tanganyika is a large
lake in central
Africa (3° 20' to 8° 48' South and from 29° 5' to 31° 15' East). It is estimated to be the
second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the
second deepest, in both cases after
Lake Baikal in
Siberia. The lake is divided between four countries –
Burundi,
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),
Tanzania and
Zambia, with the DRC (45%) and Tanzania (41%) possessing the majority of the lake. The water flows into the
Congo River system and ultimately into the
Atlantic Ocean.
Geography
The lake is situated within the Western Rift of the geographic feature known as the
Great Rift Valley formed by the
tectonic 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 lake by surface area on the continent. It is the deepest lake in Africa and holds the greatest volume of fresh water. It extends for 673 km in a general north-south direction and averages 50 km in width. The lake covers 32,900 km², with a shoreline of 1,828km and a mean depth of 570 m and a maximum depth of 1,470 m (4,823 ft) (in the northern basin) it holds an estimated 18,900 km³ (4500 cubic miles). It has an average surface temperature of 25 °C and a
pH averaging 8.4. Additionally, beneath the 500 m of water there's circa 4,500 metres of sediment laying over the rock floor.
The enormous depth and tropical location of the lake prevent 'turnover' of watermasses, which means that much of the lower depths of the lake are so-called '
fossil water' and are anoxic (lacking oxygen). The catchment area of the lake covers 231,000 km², with two main rivers flowing into the lake, numerous smaller rivers and streams (due to the steep mountains that keep drainage areas small), and one major outflow, the
Lukuga River, which empties into the
Congo River drainage.
The major inflows are the
Ruzizi River, entering the north of the lake from
Lake Kivu, and the
Malagarasi River, which is Tanzania's second largest river, entering in the east side of Lake Tanganyika. The Malagarasi pre-dates Lake Tanganyika and was formerly continuous with the
Congo river.
Biology
The lake holds at least 250 species of
cichlid fish and 150 non-cichlid species, most of which live along the shore line down to a depth of approximately . Lake Tanganyika is thus an important biological resource for the study of speciation in evolution.
and that population amounts to around one million. Currently there are around 100,000 people directly involved in the fisheries operating from almost 800 sites. The lake is also vital to the estimated 10 million people living in the basin.
Lake Tanganyika fish can be found exported throughout East Africa. Commercial fishing began in the mid-1950s and has had an extremely heavy impact on the pelagic fish species, in 1995 the total catch was around 180,000 tonnes. Former industrial fisheries, which boomed in the 1980s, have subsequently collapsed.
Transport
There are two ferries which carry passengers and cargo along the eastern shore of the lake - the
MV Liemba between Kigoma and Mpulungu and the
MV Mwongozo, which runs between Kigoma and Bujumbura.
History
The first known Westerners to find the lake were the Great British explorers
Richard Burton and
John Speke, in 1858. They located it while searching for the source of the
Nile River. Speke continued and found the actual source,
Lake Victoria.
World War I
The Lake was the scene of two famous battles during
World War I.
With the aid of the
Graf von Götzen (named after Count
Gustav Adolf Graf von Götzen), the former governor of
German East Africa, the Germans had complete control of the lake in the early stages of the war. The ship was used both to ferry cargo and personnel across the lake, and as a base from which to launch surprise attacks on Allied troops.
It therefore became essential for the Allied forces to gain control of the lake themselves. Under the command of
Geoffrey Spicer-Simson the
Royal Navy achieved the monumental task of bringing two armed motor boats
Mimi and Toutou from England to the lake by rail, road and river to
Kalemie on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika. The two boats waited until December 1915, and mounted a surprise attack on the Germans, with the capture of the gunboat
Kingani. Another German vessel, the
Hedwig, was sunk in February 1916, leaving the
Götzen as the only German vessel remaining to control the lake.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Lake Tanganyika'.
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