Lake Victoria, Tanzania
An irregular quadrilateral in shape, its shores, save on the west, are deeply indented. Its greatest length from north to south is 210 miles (337 km), its greatest breadth 150 miles (240 km). Its coastline exceeds 2,000 miles. Its waters fill a shallow depression in the centre of the great plateau that stretches between the Western and Eastern Rift Valleys. The lake’s surface is 3,720 feet above sea level, and its greatest ascertained depth is 270 feet.
Many archipelagos are contained within the lake, as are numerous reefs, often just below the surface of the clear waters. Lake Victoria has more than 200 species of fish, of which the Tilapia is the most economically important. The lake’s basin area covers 92,240 square miles.
The lake’s shores vary in aspect. The lake’s southwestern coast is backed by precipices 300 feet high, which give way on the western coast to papyrus and ambatch swamps marking the delta of the Kagera River.
Epic Tanzania Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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