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Lake Tanganyika

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Geography;
General Geography

   Lake Tanganyika
   Lake Tanganyika - Map of Lake Tanganyika

                           Map of Lake Tanganyika

   Coordinates 5°30′S 29°30′E
   Lake type Rift Valley Lake
   Primary sources Ruzizi River
   Malagarasi River
   Kalambo River
   Primary outflows Lukuga River
   Catchment area 231,000 km²
   Basin countries Burundi
   The DRC
   Tanzania
   Zambia
   Max-length 673 km
   Max-width 50km / 72km
   Surface area 32,900 km²
   Average depth 570m
   Max-depth 1,470m
   Water volume 18,900 km³
   Shore length^1 1,828 km
   Surface elevation 773m
   Settlements Kigoma, Tanzania
   Kalemie, DRC
   ^1 Shore length is an imprecise measure which may not be standardized
   for this article.

   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 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.

Geography

   The lake is situated within the Western Rift of the Great Rift Valley
   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
   500m of water there is circa 4,500 metres of sediment overlaying 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

   One of many cichlid fish species of Tanganyika
   Enlarge
   One of many cichlid fish species of Tanganyika

   The lake holds at least 250 species of cichlid fish and 150 non-cichlid
   species, most of which live along the shoreline down to a depth of
   approximately 600 feet). The largest biomass of fish, however, is in
   the pelagic zone (open waters) and is dominated by six species - two
   species of " Tanganyika sardine" and four species of predatory Lates
   (related to, but not the same as, the Nile Perch that has devastated
   Lake Victoria cichlids). Almost all (98%) of the Tanganyikan cichlid
   species are endemic (exclusively native) to the lake. This kind of
   elevated endemism occurs among the numerous invertebrates in the lake,
   most especially the molluscs (which possess similar forms to that of
   many marine molluscs), crabs, shrimps, copepods, jellyfishes, leeches,
   etc.

   Several species of cichlid, including many shell-dwelling species, have
   also become popular as aquarium fish due to their unique and attractive
   colouration and body shapes, unusual lifestyles and relatively high
   intelligence.

Species of note

     * Aquatic cobra.
     * Cyphotilapia frontosa, a striped fish native to Tanganyika.

Industry

   Fishermen on Lake Tanganyika
   Enlarge
   Fishermen on Lake Tanganyika
   Lake Tanganyika from space, June 1985
   Enlarge
   Lake Tanganyika from space, June 1985

   The lake's fish serve as a major source of protein for local peoples.
   Currently there are around 45,000 people directly involved in the
   fisheries operating from almost 800 sites, there around 1 million
   people dependent on the fishers, and 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.
     * The port town of Kigoma is the railhead for the railway from Dar es
       Salaam in Tanzania.
     * The port town of Kalemie is the railhead for the D.R. Congo rail
       network.

History

   The first known Europeans to find the lake were the 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.

   The Lake was the scene of two famous battles, under the command of the
   British Officer Geoffrey Spicer-Simson. It was retold in a book by
   Giles Foden entitled Mimi and Toutou Go Forth. The Bizarre Battle for
   Lake Tanganyika

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tanganyika"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
