Lake Victoria, also called Victoria Nyanza, largest lake in Africa and chief reservoir of the Nile, lying mainly in Tanzania and Uganda but bordering on Kenya. Its area is 26,828 square miles (69,484 square km). Among the freshwater lakes of the world, it is exceeded in size only by Lake Superior in North America.
When was Lake Victoria renamed?
1858
Though having multiple local language names (Dholuo: Nam Lolwe; Luganda: ‘Nnalubaale; Kinyarwanda: Nyanza; also Ukerewe), the lake was renamed after Queen Victoria by the explorer John Hanning Speke, the first Briton to document it in 1858, while on an expedition with Richard Francis Burton.
Why is Lake Victoria called Nalubaale?
On its western shores, it was Nalubaale, a Luganda word that means, “mother of guardian gods.” The Baganda believed that this lake was the source of power for their deities, and its fluid transparent nature made it a place of divination and transformation.
Has Lake Victoria ever dried up?
“Historically, the level of Lake Victoria has dropped pretty drastically,” and past research has shown that the lake twice dried out completely, 15,000 and 17,000 years ago. The team’s research showed that the lake also dried out at least once more in the past 100,000 years.
Why is Lake Victoria so special?
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 do the Africans call Lake Victoria?
Lake Victoria, also called Victoria Nyanza, largest lake in Africa and chief reservoir of the Nile, lying mainly in Tanzania and Uganda but bordering on Kenya.
What is the indigenous name for Lake Victoria?
The lake is the source of the Nile River and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world after Lake Superior in North America. Among the various ethnic groups that live around the lake, it goes by indigenous names such as Nalubaale, Nyanza, Ukerewe, and Lolwe.
What is the deepest lake in Africa?
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is the deepest lake in Africa and is the largest among the Albertine Rift lakes.
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 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.
Are there crocodiles in Lake Victoria?
Hippos and crocodiles in Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is home to large populations of hippo and crocodiles. They are both highly dangerous and responsible for hundreds of fatalities every year in Africa.
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.
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.
Does Lake Victoria drain into the Nile?
“Lake Victoria is operated as a reservoir,” says Reynolds. The White Nile River is the only outlet from the lake, and since 1954, the Owens Falls Dam [now Nalubaale] has controlled the flow of water out of Lake Victoria into the Nile according to the terms of a treaty between Uganda and Egypt.
Why is Lake Victoria drying 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.
What do the native people call Victoria Falls?
Mosi-oa-Tunya
The local indigenous name for the falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya meaning “the smoke that thunders”. Livingstone, on seeing the massive waterfall named it after the British Monarch at the time, Queen Victoria.
Which country owns the largest part of Lake Victoria?
The lake is located in 3 countries: Kenya has 6% of the total area (4,100 square kilometers or 1,600 square miles), Uganda has 45% (31,000 square kilometers or 12,000 square miles), and Tanzania has 49% (33,700 square kilometers or 13,000 square miles).
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 Aboriginal land is Victoria on?
Victoria currently has five determinations of native title which cover much of the state. These are the Yorta Yorta peoples, the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk peoples of the Wimmera, the Gunditjmara Peoples, the Gunaikurnai people and the Gunditjmaraand Eastern Maar peoples.
What alien species was in Lake Victoria?
Nile perch
Nile perch (Lates niloticus) were introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s to boost the fishing industry. Though the introduction of Nile perch resulted in an economic boom, it almost caused cichlids, a native fish, to go extinct.
What is the Aboriginal name for Gippsland?
“Gunai/Kurnai” is the name of the tribal group which inhabited the Gippsland region for at least 18,000 years. “Koorie” or “Koori” is a term widely used by Aboriginal people living in south eastern Australia as an expression of shared identity.