Rift Valley lakes in Uganda
Rift Valley lake in Uganda : Uganda is made up of several beautiful rift valley lakes found in different regions of the country, rift valley lakes are a series of lakes found in the East African Rift Valley that runs through eastern Africa from Ethiopia in the north to Malawi in the south including the Africa Great lakes in the south. A Rift valley refers to an elongated valley formed by the depression of a block of the earth’s surface between two faults, the rift valley is formed on a divergent plate boundary, a crustal extension or spreading a part of the surface which is further deepened by the forces of erosion.
Rift Valley lakes in Uganda are found in the East African rift valley and these lakes are mainly 4 and they include Lake Edward, Lake Albert, Lake George and Lake Kyoga as explained below in details.
- Lake Edward
Lake Edward formerly known as Lake Rutanzige is one of the smallest lake in the African Great Lakes found in the Albertine Rift in the western branch of the East African Rift, on the border between Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda with its northern shores of the lake stretching a few kilometers south of the equator.
Geographically, Lake Edward lies at an elevation of 920 meters, 77 kilometers long by 40 kilometers wide at its maximum points. Lake Edward covers a total surface area of 2,325 square kilometers which makes it to be the 15th largest lake on the African continent.
Lake Edward is inflow source is River Rutshuru, the lake is one of the water bodies in Queen Elizabeth national park and it is connected to Lake George by the famous Kazinga Channel.
- Lake George
Lake George also known as Lake Dweru is one of the beautiful lakes in the chain of Africa’s Great Lakes in Uganda, the lake was named after Prince George a member of the British Royal family who later became King George V of the United Kingdom.
Lake George covers a total surface area of 250 square kilometers (97 sq.mi), the lake is located in the western part of the East Africa’s rift valley and is linked to the fellow rift valley lake. Lake Edward by the Kazinga channel which is one of the highlight features in Queen Elizabeth national park.
Henry M Stanely – a British explorer is said to be the first European to have seen Lake George in 1875, after following the course of the Katonga River from Lake Victoria during the trans-African expedition.
Lake George drains to the southwest into Lake Edward through the Kazinga Channel, the main entries to Lake George are Mpanga and Dura from northeast and Rumi, Nsonga and Mubuku. The Lake is fed by
- Lake Albert
Lake Albert formerly known as Lake Mobutu Sese Seko and locally known as Lake Mwitanzige is located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the lake is ranked as the 7th largest lake in Africa and the second biggest of the Great Lakes in Uganda with a surface area of 5,300 square kilometers.
The first European to visit Lake Albert are the explorers Samuel Baker and Sass Flora who visited in 1864, during their visit they renamed the lake Albert after the then recently deceased Prince Albert, Consort of Queen Victoria. In the 20th century the then Zarian President Mobutu Sese Seko temporarily named the lake after himself.
Geographically, Lake Albert is located in the center of the African continent , on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and it is in the northernmost of the chain of the lakes in the Albertine Rift, in the western branch of the East Africa Rift.
Lake Albert is approximately 160 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide with a maximum depth of 51 meters and a surface elevation of 619 meters above sea level.
Lake Albert is part of the complicated system of the upper Nile with white as its main sources, coming from Lake Victoria to the southeast and the Semuliki River which originates from Lake Esward to the southwest. The waters from the Victoria Nile are much less saline than the waters of Lake Albert, Albert Nile a section of the white Nile is the lake’s out let at its northernmost tip. The White Nile later becomes to be known as the Mountain Nile when its course enters south sudan.
- Lake Kyoga.
Lake Kyoga also spelled as Kioga is one of the Rift valley lakes in Uganda, this large shallow lake is about 1,720 square kilometers in area and at an elevation of 1,033 meters. Lake George is located north of Lake Victoria in central Uganda and it is formed by the Victoria Nile in its middle course.
The Victoria Nile flows through the lake on its way from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert, the main inflow from Lake Victoria is entirely regulated by the Nalubaale Power station in Jinja. Another source of water for Lake Kyoga is the Mount Elgon region on the border between Uganda and Kenya.
Lake Kyoga reaches a depth of about 5.7 meters and most of it is less than 4 meters deep are completely covered by water lilies and much of the swampy shoreline is covered with papyrus and the water hyacinth. Lake Kyoga has extension lakes and these include Lake Kwanja, Lake Bisina and Lake Opeta. These lakes are surrounded by swampland during rainy seasons.
