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Lake Victoria

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Lake Victoria
BERJAYA
lake, freshwater lake
Part ofAfrican Great Lakes Edit
Significant personZanaki people Edit
OutflowsWhite Nile Edit
Drainage basinNile basin Edit
Basin countryTanzania, Uganda, Kenya Edit
Dem name afterVictoria Edit
CountryTanzania, Uganda, Kenya Edit
Located in/on physical featureGreat Rift Valley Edit
Coordinate location1°0′0″S 33°0′0″E Edit
Dey share bother plusTanzania, Kenya, Uganda Edit
Significant eventUjamaa Edit
Discoverer or inventorJohn Hanning Speke Edit
Time of discovery anaa invention1858 Edit
Category for maps or plansCategory:Maps of Lake Victoria Edit
Map

Lake Victoria be one of de African Great Lakes.[1] Plus a surface area of approximately 59,947 km2 (23,146 sq mi),[2][3] Lake Victoria be Africa ein largest lake by area, de world ein largest tropical lake,[4] den de world ein second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after Lake Superior insyd North America.[5] In terms of volume, Lake Victoria be de world ein ninth-largest continental lake, wey dey contain about 2,424 km3 (1.965×109 acre⋅ft) of water.[3][6] Lake Victoria dey occupy a shallow depression insyd Africa. De lake get an average depth of 40 m (130 ft) den a maximum depth of 80–81 m (262–266 ft).[3][6][7] Ein catchment area dey cover 169,858 km2 (65,583 sq mi).[8] De lake get a shoreline of 7,142 km (4,438 mi) wen digitized at de 1:25,000 level,[9] wey islands dey constitute 3.7% of dis length.[10] 

De lake ein area be divided among three countries: Tanzania dey occupy 49% (33,700 km2 (13,000 sq mi)), Uganda 45% (31,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi)), den Kenya 6% (4,100 km2 (1,600 sq mi)).[11]

De lake be home to chaw species of fish wich dey live nowhere else, especially cichlids. Invasive fish, such as de Nile perch, drive chaw endemic species to extinction.

Names

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Though e get multiple local language names (Swahili: Ukerewe; Dholuo: Nam Lolwe; Luganda: 'Nnalubaale; Kinyarwanda: Nyanza),[12][13] na dem rename de lake after Queen Victoria by de explorer John Hanning Speke, de first Briton to document am insyd 1858, while on an expedition plys Richard Francis Burton.[14][15]

Native wildlife

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Mammals

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Chaw mammal species dey live insyd de region of Lake Victoria, den sam of dese be closely associated plus de lake einself den de nearby wetlands. Among dese be de hippopotamus, African clawless otter, spotted-necked otter, marsh mongoose, sitatunga, bohor reedbuck, defassa waterbuck, cane rats, den giant otter shrew.[16]

Reptiles

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Lake Victoria den ein wetlands get a large population of Nile crocodiles, as well as African helmeted turtles, variable mud turtles, den Williams' mud turtle.[17] De Williams' mud turtle be restricted to Lake Victoria den oda lakes, rivers, den swamps insyd de upper Nile basin.[17] 

Cichlid fish

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BERJAYA
Unlike chaw oda Lake Victoria cichlids, Haplochromis nyererei dey remain common. Dem compare to chaw oda cichlids, ein eyes be particularly sensitive to light, especially red, wich be less affected by de decrease insyd water clarity wey eutrophication than short wavelength colors cause[18]
View at Lake Victoria (Uganda).
View at Lake Victoria insyd Uganda
BERJAYA
Nile monitor lizard, Lake Victoria.

Oda fish

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De non-cichlid native fish dey include African tetras (Brycinus), cyprinids (Enteromius, Garra, Labeo, Labeobarbus, Rastrineobola den Xenobarbus), airbreathing catfish (Clariallabes, Clarias den Xenoclarias), bagrid catfish (Bagrus), loach catfish (Amphilius den Zaireichthys), silver butter catfish (Schilbe intermedius), Synodontis squeaker catfish, Nothobranchius killifish, poeciliids (Aplocheilichthys den Micropanchax), de spiny eel Mastacembelus frenatus, elephantfish (Gnathonemus, Hippopotamyrus, Marcusenius, Mormyrus, Petrocephalus, den Pollimyrus), de climbing gourami Ctenopoma muriei den marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus).[19]

Lake Victoria
Map of Lake Victoria

At a genus level, chaw of dese be widespread insyd Africa, buh de very rare Xenobarbus den Xenoclarias be endemic to de lake, den de common Rastrineobola be near-endemic.[20]

A restocking effort give de native tilapia species Oreochromis esculentus insyd Lake Victoria involve Conservation International Kenya, Victory Farms, den de Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute.[21][22][23]

Crustaceans

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Four species of freshwater crabs be known from Lake Victoria: Potamonautes niloticus be widespread insyd de lake den P. emini be recorded from de vicinity of Bukoba insyd Tanzania, buh both sanso be found elsewhere insyd Africa.[24]

Lake Victoria.
Lake Victoria from a wider angle.

De shrimp/prawn per be Caridina nilotica,[25] wich be common den widespread insyd Lake Victoria.[26]

Molluscs

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Lake Victoria be home to 28 species of freshwater snails (e.g., Bellamya, Biomphalaria, Bulinus, Cleopatra, Gabbiella, den Melanoides), wey dey include 12 endemic species/subspecies.[27][28] Der be 17 species of bivalves (Corbicula, Coelatura, Sphaerium, den Byssanodonta), wey dey include 6 endemic species den subspecies.[27][29]

Spiders

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Evarcha culicivora be a species of jumping spider (family Salticidae) dem find around Lake Victoria per insyd Kenya den Uganda. E dey feed primarily on female mosquitos.[30]

History den exploration

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BERJAYA
Bismarck Rock

De first recorded information about Lake Victoria dey cam from Arab traders wey dey ply de inland routes in search of gold, ivory, oda precious commodities, den slaves.

BERJAYA
De lake as dem see from de shores of de Speke Resort insyd Kampala, Uganda

Water use

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Chaw towns den cities be reliant on Lake Victoria for dema water supplies, for farming den oda uses.[31]

Nalubaale Dam

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BERJAYA
De Nalubaale Hydroelectric Power Station insyd Njeru, Uganda.

References

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  1. ↑ "Lake Victoria | AGLI". www.africangreatlakesinform.org. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  2. ↑ Stuart, Hamilton (2016-10-05). "Shoreline, Lake Victoria, vector polygon, ~2015". Harvard Dataverse (Data Set) (in English). doi:10.7910/dvn/pwfw26.
  3. 1 2 3 Stuart, Hamilton (2018-11-13). "Earth and Environmental Sciences". Lake Victoria Statistics from this Dataverse (Data Set) (in English). Harvard Dataverse. doi:10.7910/dvn/fvjj4a.
  4. ↑ Saundry, Peter. "Lake Victoria".
  5. ↑ "Lake Victoria". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  6. 1 2 Stuart, Hamilton; Taabu, Anthony Munyaho; Noah, Krach; Sarah, Glaser (2018-05-17). "Bathymetry TIFF, Lake Victoria Bathymetry, raster, 2017, V7". Harvard Dataverse (Data Set) (in English). doi:10.7910/dvn/soeknr.
  7. ↑ United Nations, Development and Harmonisation of Environmental Laws Volume 1: Report on the Legal and Institutional Issues in the Lake Victoria Basin, United Nations, 1999, page 17
  8. ↑ Stuart, Hamilton (2017-11-12). "Basin, Lake Victoria Watershed (inside), vector polygon, ~2015". Harvard Dataverse (Data Set) (in English). doi:10.7910/dvn/z5rmyd.
  9. ↑ Hamilton, Stuart (2016-10-11). "Earth and Environmental Sciences". Shoreline, Lake Victoria, vector line – 2015 – LakeVicFish Dataverse (Data Set). Harvard Dataverse. doi:10.7910/dvn/5y5ivf.
  10. ↑ Hickling, C. F. (1961). Tropical Inland Fisheries. London: Longmans.
  11. ↑ J. Prado, R.J. Beare, J. Siwo Mbuga & L.E. Oluka, 1991.
  12. ↑ "The Victoria. The Land, the Races and their Customs, with Specimens of Some of the Dialects". World Digital Library. 1899. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  13. ↑ "Lake Ukerewe". nTZ: An Information Resource for Northern Tanzania. David Marsh. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  14. ↑ Alberge, Dalya (11 September 2011). "How Feud Wrecked the Reputation of Explorer Who Discovered Nile's Source". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  15. ↑ Moorehead, Alan (1960). "Part One: The Exploration, Chapters 1-5". The White Nile. New York: Harper & Row. pp. 27, 36, 39, 43, 46, 50, 52, 54, 62, 66, 71, 98. ISBN 978-0-06-095639-4. LCCN 61-6197. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  16. ↑ Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals. London, England: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-408355-2.
  17. 1 2 Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Drewes, Robert C. & Ashe, James (2002). Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa: All the Reptiles of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi (1st ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-12-656470-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Witte; Msuku; Wanink; Seehausen; Katunzi; Goudswaard; Goldschmidt (2000). "Recovery of cichlid species in Lake Victoria: an examination of factors leading to differential extinction". Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 10 (2): 233–41. Bibcode:2000RFBF...10..233W. doi:10.1023/a:1016677515930. S2CID 39566440.
  19. ↑ FishBase: Fish Species in Victoria.
  20. ↑ FishBase: Fish Species in Victoria.
  21. ↑ "Efforts set in place to save Tilapia species". FarmKenya Initiative (The Standard). 8 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "Restocking of endangered fish species starts in L.Victoria". Kenya News Agency. 6 September 2023.
  23. ↑ "Kenya". Conservation International.
  24. ↑ Cumberlidge, N. (2009).
  25. ↑ Goudswaard, K.; Witte, F.; Wanink, J.H. (2006). "The shrimp Caridina nilotica in Lake Victoria (East Africa), before and after the Nile perch increase". Hydrobiologia. 563 (1): 31–44. Bibcode:2006HyBio.563...31G. doi:10.1007/s10750-005-1385-9. S2CID 40935454.
  26. ↑ Lowe-McConnell, R (2009). "Fisheries and cichlid evolution in the African Great Lakes: progress and problems". Freshwater Reviews. 2 (2): 131–51. doi:10.1608/frj-2.2.2. S2CID 54011001.
  27. 1 2 Seddon, M.; Appleton, C.; Van Damme, D.; Graf, D. (2011). "Freshwater Molluscs of Africa: Diversity, Distribution, and Conservation". In Darwall, W.; Smith, K.; Allen, D.; Holland, R.; Harrison, I.; Brooks, E. (eds.). The Diversity of Life in African Freshwaters: Under Water, Under Threat. An Analysis of the Status and Distribution of Freshwater Species Throughout Mainland Africa. pp. 92–119. ISBN 978-2-8317-1345-8.
  28. ↑ Brown, D. (1994).
  29. ↑ Mwambungu, J.A. (2004). "The diversity of benthic molluscs of Lake Victoria and Lake Burigi". Tanzania Journal of Science. 30 (1): 21–32. doi:10.4314/tjs.v30i1.18384.
  30. ↑ Nelson, Ximena J.; Jackson, Robert R.; Sune, Godfrey (2005). "Use of Anopheles-Specific Prey-Capture Behavior by the Small Juveniles of Evarcha culicivora, a Mosquito-Eating Jumping Spider". The Journal of Arachnology. 33 (2): 541–548. doi:10.1636/05-3.1. ISSN 0161-8202. JSTOR 4129852. S2CID 55244513.
  31. ↑ "Lake Victoria | Size, Map, Countries, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica (in English). Retrieved 2020-08-24.
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