Home Qa What is the difference between Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika?

What is the difference between Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika?

Benjamin B

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28 April 2023

Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria are both lakes within the Albertine Rift of the Rift Valley, and are some of the largest lakes in the world: Lake Tanganyika is the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and depth, while Lake Victoria is the world's third-largest fresh water lake by surface area.

Which is bigger Lake Victoria or Lake Tanganyika?

Lake Victoria is the third-largest fresh water lake in the world by area, and Lake Tanganyika is the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and depth.

How is Lake Tanganyika different than all other lakes in the world?

Lake Tanganyika is the second oldest freshwater lake, second largest by volume, and second deepest in the world. It is the longest freshwater lake in the world.

Where is Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika?

The great lakes of Africa, Lakes Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika, are located in East Africa in the vicinity of the Great Rift Valleys and hold approximately 27% of the world's freshwater.

What is special about Lake Tanganyika?

The one record it holds is being the longest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Tanganyika stores 4,500 cubic miles of water, covering an area of 12,700 square miles. The deepest point in the lake is 4,820 feet, and it averages a depth of 1,870 feet. This great depth is due to it lying in the Great Rift Valley.

What lake is bigger than Lake Victoria?

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world, after Lake Superior in North America. It is located in East Africa and shares its shores between three countries: Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Is Lake Tanganyika the largest lake in the world?

With a maximum depth of 1470 m and an area of 32 900 km² , Tanganyika is the second deepest and the fifth largest lake on the planet. Its volume of 18 880 km³ makes it the third largest lake in the world by volume, exceeded only by the Caspian and Baikal.

Are there crocodiles in Lake Tanganyika?

Reptiles. Lake Tanganyika and associated wetlands are home to Nile crocodiles (including famous giant Gustave), Zambian hinged terrapins, serrated hinged terrapins, and pan hinged terrapins (last species not in the lake itself, but in adjacent lagoons).

Is it safe to swim in Lake Tanganyika?

Swimming in Lake Tanganyika

You can swim safely in the Lake, but we urge a cautious approach. Never swim at night or when visibility in the lake is reduced due to waves, rain, or bad weather. Don't stray from the front of the deck and don't swim too far out. Children must always be directly supervised.

How is Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria similar?

Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria are both lakes within the Albertine Rift of the Rift Valley, and are some of the largest lakes in the world: Lake Tanganyika is the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and depth, while Lake Victoria is the world's third-largest fresh water lake by surface area.

What is Tanganyika called now?

Tanganyika, historical eastern African state that in 1964 merged with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, later renamed the United Republic of Tanzania. (See Tanzania.)

What 4 countries is Lake Tanganyika in?

The lake is shared among four countries namely Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Zambia, with RDC holding 45 % and Tanzania 41 %. The major outflow is the Lukuga River, which empties into the Congo River system.

What is the African name for Lake Victoria?

How Big is Lake Victoria? It's known in Kenya as Nam Lowe (body of endless water) and in Uganda as 'Nnalubaale (Home of the Gods). Both names allude to the grand scale of the lake – the largest in Africa, and second-largest in the world.

Why is there so little life on bottom of Lake Tanganyika?

Rapid deforestation of surrounding hillsides have loosened the earth, causing an increase in sand and mud being washed into the lake. This sand and mud smothers the lake floor in the shallows, where most of Lake Tanganyika's flora and fauna live.

Does Lake Tanganyika feed the Nile?

Ironically, scientists now know that Lake Tanganikya, too, was at one time a source of Nile water, as claimed by Burton and Livingstone. Not during the 19th century, but millions of years ago.

Is Lake Tanganyika saltwater or freshwater?

Lake Tanganyika, second largest of the lakes of eastern Africa. It is the longest freshwater lake in the world (410 miles 660 km) and the second deepest (4,710 feet 1,436 metres) after Lake Baikal in Russia.

Why is Lake Victoria so special?

Lake Victoria is the world's largest tropical lake and the largest lake in the African Great Lakes region. The lake supports the largest freshwater fishery in the world, producing 1 million tons of fish per year and employing 200,000 people in supporting the livelihoods of 4 million people.

What did Lake Victoria used to be called?

The search by Europeans for the source of the Nile led to the sighting of the lake by the British explorer John Hanning Speke in 1858. Formerly known to the Arabs as Ukerewe, the lake was named by Speke in honour of Queen Victoria of England.

Is Lake Victoria the deepest lake in the world?

In terms of volume, Lake Victoria is the world's ninth-largest continental lake, containing about 2,424 km³ (1.965×10⁹ acre⋅ft) of water. Lake Victoria occupies a shallow depression in Africa. The lake has an average depth of 40 m (130 ft) and a maximum depth of 80–81 m (262–266 ft).

What lives in Lake Tanganyika?

The lake is home to 250 cichlid fish species, out of which 98% are endemic to the lake. It's also home to 75 non-cichlid fish species, out of which approximately 60% are endemic. Most fish live along the lake's shoreline, to a maximum depth of about 180 meters (590 feet).

Is Lake Tanganyika deep or shallow?

Lake Tanganyika is the deepest lake in Africa and is the largest among the Albertine Rift lakes. The basin has a population of more than 10 million people and the population density within the basin varies between 13 and 250 persons per km2.