African Great Lakes

African Great Lakes

The Great Lakes of Africa are a series of lakes in and around the geographic Great Rift Valley formed by the action of the tectonic East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world in terms of surface area, and Lake Tanganyika, the world's second largest in volume as well as the second deepest. The term "Greater Lakes" is also used, less commonly, for some of them.

The Great Lakes are divided among three different catchments (river basins), and a number, such as Lake Turkana have internal drainage systems. The following, in order of size from largest to smallest, are included on most lists of the African Great Lakes:

* Lake Victoria
* Lake Tanganyika
* Lake Nyasa
* Lake Turkana
* Lake Albert
* Lake Kivu

Some call only Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, and Lake Edward the Great Lakes, as they are the only three that empty into the White Nile. Lake Kyoga is part of Great Lakes system, but is not itself considered a Great Lake, on size grounds. Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kivu both empty into the Congo River system, while Lake Malawi is drained by the Shire River into the Zambezi. Lake Turkana has no outlet.

Two other lakes close to Lake Tanganyika do not appear on the lists despite being larger than Edward and Kivu: Lake Rukwa and Lake Mweru.

Because the term is a loose one, it is often preferable to use other categorizations such as "African Rift Valley Lakes" or "East African Lakes".

Great Lakes region

The term Great Lake region is likewise somewhat loose. It is used in a narrow sense for the area lying between northern Lake Tanganyika, western Lake Victoria, and lakes Kivu, Edward and Albert. This comprises Burundi, Rwanda, north-eastern DR Congo, Uganda and north-western Kenya and Tanzania. It is used in a wider sense to extend to all of Kenya and Tanzania, but not usually as far south as Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique nor as far north as Ethiopia, though these four countries border one of the Great Lakes.

Because of the density of population and the agricultural surplus in the region the area became highly organized into a number of small states. The most powerful of these monarchies were Rwanda, Burundi, Buganda, and Bunyoro. Unusual for sub-Saharan Africa, the traditional borders were largely maintained by the colonial powers.

Being the long sought after source of the Nile, the region had long been of interest to Europeans. The first Europeans to arrive in the region in any numbers were missionaries who had limited success in converting the locals, but did open the region to later colonization. The increased contact with the rest of the world led to a series of devastating epidemics affecting both humans and livestock. These decreased the region's population dramatically, by up to 60% in some areas. The region did not return to its precolonial population until the 1950s.

While seen as a region with great potential after independence, the region has in recent decades been marred by civil war and conflict, from which only Tanzania has largely escaped. The worst affected areas have been left in great poverty.

ee also

*2008 Rwanda earthquake
*2005 Lake Tanganyika earthquake
*List of lakes
*List of world's largest lakes
*Rift Valley lakes

References

*Jean-Pierre Chrétien. "The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History" trans Scott Straus


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Clan (African Great Lakes) — In the African Great Lakes region, the clan is a unit of social organisation. It is the oldest societal structure in the region, other than family and direct lineage. The structure is found in modern day Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda.… …   Wikipedia

  • Great Lakes region — can refer to:*Great Lakes region (North America) *African Great Lakes region …   Wikipedia

  • Great Lakes (disambiguation) — The term Great Lakes usually refers to:* The Laurentian Great Lakes in North America or the surrounding Great Lakes region (North America) in the United States and the Canadian province of Ontario * The African Great Lakes and the regionIt can… …   Wikipedia

  • Great Lakes refugee crisis — The Great Lakes refugee crisis is the common name for the situation beginning with the exodus in April 1994 of over two million Rwandans to neighboring countries of the Great Lakes region of Africa in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide. Many… …   Wikipedia

  • Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois — Recruit Training Command Logo Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, is the command within the United States Navy primarily responsible for conducting the initial orientation and training of new recruits. It commonly is referred to as boot camp,… …   Wikipedia

  • Great Rift Valley — The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by English explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trough, approximately convert|6000|km|mi| 2|lk=on in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to… …   Wikipedia

  • African military systems (1800-1900) — refers to the evolution of military systems on the African continent after 1800, with emphasis on the role of indigenous states and peoples within the African continent. Only major military systems or innovations and their development after 1800… …   Wikipedia

  • Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 — This article is about Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. For the Mississippi Flood of 1993, see Great Flood of 1993. Mississippi River Flood of 1927 showing flooded areas and relief operations The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most… …   Wikipedia

  • Great Plains — For other uses, see Great Plains (disambiguation). Coordinates: 37°N 97°W / 37°N 97°W / 37; 97 …   Wikipedia

  • African religions — Indigenous religions of the African continent. The introduced religions of Islam (in northern Africa) and Christianity (in southern Africa) are now the continent s major religions, but traditional religions still play an important role,… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”