Alongside its rich history, cultural wealth, and spectacular wildlife, Lake Victoria is special for being one of only two places in East Africa where it’s possible to watch the sunset over water without being on the coast! Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya is the other.
What is special about Lake Victoria?
Lake Victoria is the largest African Great Lake by area, the world’s largest tropical lake, and the second largest fresh water body in the world.
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 80–84 m (262–276 ft).
How long does it take to cross Lake Victoria?
Typical journey times were 13 hours between Port Bell in Uganda and Kisumu in Kenya, and 19 hours between Port Bell and Mwanza in Tanzania.
Is Lake Victoria a wonder of the world?
An Official Natural Wonder of the World
Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. It is in spectacular company made up of: The Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Mount Everest, Polar Aurora, and Paricutin volcano.
What is the major issue in Lake Victoria?
Over the last four decades, however, the lake has faced a number of environmental problems, including pollution, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction and soil erosion. It is estimated that the lake’s indigenous fish species have been reduced by 80% and over 70% of the forest cover in the catchment area has been lost.
Are there sharks in Lake Victoria Africa?
Victoria, with its 2500 kilometres of coastline in a country that has 170 types of sharks, may feel like the ideal setting for a shark attack. In reality, our encounters with these marine monsters have been few and attacks have been even fewer.
What is the 1 deepest lake in the world?
Lake Baikal
Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It contains 20% of the world’s total unfrozen freshwater reserve.
Can you swim in Lake Victoria?
Is it safe to swim in Lake Victoria? It is only safe to swim in designated areas of Lake Victoria, but some locals and visitors choose to swim outside of these areas at their own risk. Local officials estimate that around 5,000 people die on Lake Victoria each year, and drowning is tragically a common cause of death.
Is Lake Victoria deep or shallow?
Being relatively shallow for its size, with a maximum depth of 84 m (276 ft) and a mean depth of 40 m (131 ft), Lake Victoria ranks as the seventh largest freshwater lake by volume, containing 2,750 cubic kilometres (2.2 million acre-feet) of water.
Is Lake Victoria the largest lake in the world?
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, the largest tropical lake in the world, the second largest freshwater lake in the world, and the third largest lake in the world.
Why is Lake Victoria so big?
Plans for gradually raising the level of the lake’s waters were completed in 1954 with the construction of the Owen Falls Dam (now the Nalubaale Dam) on the Victoria Nile at Jinja, Uganda. The dam provides hydroelectric power on a large scale and made the lake a vast reservoir.
What is the official 7 wonders of the world?
Q What is the official Seven Wonders of the World? Ans. The Seven Wonders of the World are the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum, the Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer, Petra, and the Great Wall of China. Our world is filled with the most unique structures that are both man-made and natural.
Where are the 7 natural wonders of the world?
What are the 7 Natural Wonders of the World?
- The Northern Lights, Norway.
- Grand Canyon, USA.
- Paricutin, Mexico.
- Victoria Falls, Zambia & Zimbabwe.
- Mount Everest, Nepal, Tibet & China.
- Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
- Guanabara Bay, Brazil.
- Exoticca – your online travel agency.
What are the current 7 wonders of the world?
New Seven Wonders of the World
- Great Wall of China. Great Wall of China © Digital Vision/Getty Images.
- Chichén Itzá El Castillo, a Toltec-style pyramid, Chichén Itzá, Yucatán state, Mexico © diegograndi/iStock.com.
- Petra. the Khaznah © Lovrencg/Fotolia.
- Machu Picchu.
- Christ the Redeemer.
- Colosseum.
- Taj Mahal.
What is the top predator in Lake Victoria?
The principal predatory fishes are Lates niloticus, Bagrus docmac, Clarias mossambicus, Schilbe mystus and some species of Haplochromis (sensu lato). Other predators in Lake Victoria include fish-eating birds, fish-eating snakes, crocodiles and otters.
Are there snakes in Lake Victoria?
Musambwa, an island on Lake Victoria in Uganda, is inhabited only by men – and snakes. About a thousand deadly cobras inhabit the island – seen by the fishermen who live there as spirits, rather than just snakes.
Are there hippos in Lake Victoria?
Lake Victoria is one of nine African Great Lakes. With bustling wildlife and unique species, it is one of the most ecologically diverse places on earth. The wetland species include the Sitatunga antelope, the vervet monkey, the spotted-necked otter, and the hippopotamus, which all reside in or around the waters.
What is at the bottom of Lake Victoria?
More elusive – or, possibly extinct – is the Lake Victoria Deepwater Catfish. Dwelling at the bottom of the lake, which is 82 metres at its deepest, this little-known catfish is thought to have been brought to near-extinction by the introduction of the Nile Perch.
Will Lake Victoria dry up?
Global climate change could cause Africa’s Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake and source of the Nile River, to dry up in the next 500 years, according to new NSF-funded findings by a team led by University of Houston researchers.
Why is Lake Victoria so polluted?
Industrialization, agriculture and the common practice of discarding rubbish and sewerage have so polluted Lake Victoria that residents and officials have compared it to a septic tank.