Rift Valley Lakes - Western or Albertine Rift Valley Lakes

Western or Albertine Rift Valley Lakes

The lakes of the Western or Albertine Rift, with Lake Victoria, include the largest, deepest and oldest of the Rift Valley Lakes. They are also referred to as the Central African lakes. Lakes Albert, Victoria, and Edward are part of the Nile River basin.

Lake Victoria (elevation 1134 m), with an area of 68,800 km², is the largest lake in Africa. It is not in the rift valley; it occupies a depression between the eastern and western rifts, formed by the uplift of the rifts to either side. Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi are sometimes collectively known as the African Great Lakes.

The Western Rift Valley Lakes are fresh water and home to an extraordinary number of species. Approximately 1,500 cichlid fish (Cichlidae) species live in the lakes. (See Hubert Sauper's Darwin's Nightmare concerning a reduction in biodiversity.) In addition to the cichlids, populations of Clariidae, Claroteidae, Mochokidae, Poeciliidae, Mastacembelidae, Centropomidae, Cyprinidae, Clupeidae and other fish families are found in these lakes. They are also important habitats for a number of amphibian species, including Amietophrynus kisoloensis, Bufo keringyagae, Cardioglossa cyaneospila, and Nectophryne batesii.

• Lake Albert (5300 km², elevation 615 m) is the northernmost lake in the western rift.
• Lake Edward (2325 km², elevation 912 m) drains north into Lake Albert
• Lake Kivu (2220 km², elevation 1460 m) empties into Lake Tanganyika via the Ruzizi River.
• Lake Tanganyika (32,000 km², elevation 773 m) is the largest and deepest of the Rift Valley lakes (more than 1400 meters), and is the second deepest fresh water lake on the planet (after Lake Baikal). Below roughly 200 meters depth, its water is anoxic, and devoid of most larger aquatic life. It is part of the Congo River basin, feeding into the River Congo via the Lukuga River.