Did you know? Lake Victoria is.......!

• Location
• Mara, Mwanza and West Lake, Tanzania; North Buganda, South Buganda and Busoga, Uganda; and Nyanza and Western Kenya.
• 0:21N-3:00S, 31:39-34:53E; 1,134 m above sea level.
• Description
• Lake Victoria, the largest of all African Lakes, is also the second widest freshwater body in the world. Its extensive surface belongs to the three countries; the northern half to Uganda, the southern half to Tanzania, and part of the northeastern sector to Kenya. The lake occupies a wide depression near the equator, between the East and West Great Rift Valleys, but its drainage basin is relatively small, being slightly less than three times the lake's surface in area. The lake water is drained at a rate of about 600 m³ sec^-1, at Jinja on the northern shore, into the Victoria Nile which flows northward via Lake Albert and the White Nile forming the uppermost reaches of the Nile River.
  The lake shore is highly indented, and there are many isles in the lake, some of which, especially the Sesse Group, are known for their beautiful landscape, health resorts and sightseeing places. Abundant prehistoric remains found around the lake indicate the early development of agriculture. There are a number of coastal towns such as Kisumu (Kenya), Entebe (Uganda), Bukoba, Muwanza and Musoma (Tanzania), connected with each other by ship routes and also to the cities of the Indian Ocean coast by railways. The dam constructed in 1954 at Owen Falls on the Victoria Nile supplies electricity and water for various uses in Uganda and Kenya.
  Physical Dimensions

  Surface area [km2]	68,800
  Volume [km3]	2,750
  Maximum depth [m]	84
  Mean depth [m]	40
  Water level	Regulated
  Length of shoreline [km]	3,440
  Residence time [yr]	23
  Catchment area [km2]	184,000

  
  

  GEOGRAPHICAL

  • Bathymetric map: Fig. AFR-05-01.
  • Names of main islands: Ukerewe, Sesse, Ukara, Kome, Lolui and Mfanganu (3).
  • Number of outflowing rivers and channels (name): 1 (Victoria Nile R.)(Q1).

  CLIMATIC

  • Climatic data at Kisumu (Q1)

  	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Ann.
  Mean temp. [deg C]*1	24.0	23.6	23.9	23.2	23.1	23.3	21.8	22.1	22.8	23.4	23.3	23.3	23.1
  Precipitation [mm]*2	57	70	160	195	177	101	68	96	79	64	106	105	1,278

  Source: http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/afr/afr-05.html