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Lake Victoria

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008

Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza , largest lake of Africa and the world's second largest freshwater lake, c.26,830 sq mi (69,490 sq km), E central Africa, on the Uganda-Tanzania-Kenya border. Lake Victoria (c.255 mi/410 km long and c.155 mi/250 km wide) occupies a shallow depression (c.250 ft/75 m deep) on the Equatorial Plateau (alt. 3,725 ft/1,135 m) between two arms of the Great Rift Valley. It has an irregular shoreline and many small islands. Numerous streams, including the Kagera River, feed Lake Victoria, which is one of the chief headwater reservoirs of the Nile; the Victoria Nile drains the lake to the north. At Owen Falls Dam on the Victoria Nile the lake's waters are used to generate hydroelectricity. The lake basin is densely populated and intensely cultivated, and the lake is an important fishery, but fish stocks and diversity have declined since the 1980s as a result of overfishing and the introduction of the Nile perch. The lake has also suffered uncontrolled water hyacinth proliferation. Ships regularly call at lakeside towns, including Entebbe, Mwanza, Bukoba, and Kisumu. The first European to see Lake Victoria (originally called Ukerewe) was John Speke , the British explorer, in 1858; Henry Stanley explored the region in 1875.

Author not available, VICTORIA, LAKE., The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research

	Lake Victoria perch - at the head of the predatory food chain The Independent Weekly; 11/30/2005; Anonymous; 943 words ; Some weeks ago, I was browsing the fish counter at Whole Foods when my eye was caught by the legend: "Lake Victoria Perch." It caught my eye because I, like many, am a sucker for that kind of specificity in a food description. Would you like mussels or Prince Edward Island mussels? Would you like Read more
	EU/KENYA/UGANDA/TANZANIA: EURO 30 MILLION AID FOR LAKE VICTORIA FISH MANAGEMENT.(European Union gives aid to governments bordering lake)(Brief Article) European Report; 1/8/2003; 283 words ; A Euro 29.9 million aid programme to implement a fisheries management plan for Africa's Lake Victoria has been approved by the European Commission. The aid will be sent through the lake's three surrounding countries, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and will aim to help regenerate fish stocks that are Read more
	Useful disasters: the complexity of response to stress in a tropical lake ecosystem [Introduction of Nile perch to Lake Victoria] Anthropologica; 1/1/1996; Pratt, Marion; 9027 words ; Abstract: The introduction of the Nile perch in the 1960s enhanced the economic value of the local fishery and encouraged women to become involved in fish processing and marketing. Over time, however, the predatory perch has severely reduced stocks of popular indigenous fishes. Currently, Read more
	The Race To Save a Dying Lake; 3 African States Join Conservation Effort The Washington Post; 7/4/1993; Susan Okie; 1363 words ; In this tranquil lake, sacred to the local people, a species of fish survives that once was abundant in nearby Lake Victoria but has disappeared from its waters. If conservationists succeed in an ambitious plan to rescue this and other nearly extinct African fish as both a food source and a Read more
	Betting on the Bugs; Machine-Like Weevils Rid Lake Victoria of Choking Weed The Washington Post; 9/22/1999; Karl Vick; 1087 words ; If looks were everything, no one would have a problem with the water hyacinths that adorn Lake Victoria. Their lush leaves sprout a gorgeous violet blossom. Their beauty must have enchanted whoever first plunked these plants native to South America into this giant body of water bordered by Read more
	Lake Victoria: Casualty of capitalism. Monthly Review; 12/1/2001; MacDougall, A. Kent; 1944 words ; Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake (after Lake Superior), has long been East Africa's chief environmental, economic, and nutritional asset. Its four hundred species of native fish have traditionally provided local fishermen with their livelihood and East Africans with their Read more
	"Africa's great lakes in peril." (Lake Victoria) World Watch; 11/1/1994; Chege, Nancy; 512 words ; (March/April 1992). For several decades, Lake Victoria, Africa's largest and the world's second largest fresh-water lake, has been a victim of overfishing, pollution, and sedimentation, as World Watch reported in early 1992. Victoria has been referred to as a dying lake by some scientists because Read more
	No jubilee for this Victoria World Paper (USA); 11/12/1997; McOwiti O. Thomas; 1112 words ; McOwiti O. Thomas World Paper (USA) 11-12-1997 SWEET WATER, SOUR FUTURE Kenyans waking up to decline of majestic lake From the air, the thick mat of lush green water hyacinth that covers huge parts of Lake Victoria looks beautiful and harmless, even enticing. But to the millions of people who Read more
	Kenya to Enforce Hygiene Rules for Lake Victoria Region, XINHUA Xinhua (China); 7/14/2000; 233 words ; Xinhua (China) 07-14-2000 NAIROBI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government is to enforce hygiene regulations for all beaches in the Lake Victoria region in southwestern Kenya, Kisumu District Commissioner Andrew Mondoh has said. Mondoh said the government will ensure all the beaches are clean and Read more
	Surging oil price hurts Lake Victoria fishery, NATION The Nation (Thailand); 9/17/2004; 337 words ; The Nation (Thailand) 09-17-2004 URL: httpwww.nationmultimedia.com/ DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Frustrated fishermen along Lake Victoria -- the world's second largest freshwater lake -- are cutting down on fishing as producer prices cannot match soaring fuel prices. The price of the fuel, Read more

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