About Lake Tanganika.by Chabala Chisenga | 26-03-2017 08:28 |
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Hello Everybody,I Greet You All With Love,Peace and Unity,Some Days or A Week Ago I Shared Some Information With You About Lake Kariba Thank You For Your Overwhelming Response Your Comments,I Would Like To Share With You Information About Lake Tanganika,Enjoy Reading,Stay Blessed.Lake Tanganyika is situated within the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, and is confined by the mountainous walls of the valley. It is the largest rift lake in Africa and the second largest lake by volume in the world.It is the deepest lake in Africa and holds the greatest volume of fresh water, accounting for 18% of the world's available fresh water.It extends for 676 km (420 mi) in a general north-south direction and averages 50 km (31 mi) in width. The lake covers 32,900 km 2 (12,700 sq mi), with a shoreline of 1,828 km (1,136 mi), a mean depth of 570 m (1,870 ft) and a maximum depth of 1,470 m (4,820 ft) (in the northern basin). It holds an estimated 18,900 cubic kilometres (4,500 cu mi). This is equivalent to about 16% of all fresh water on Earth. It has an average surface temperature of 25 ?C (77 ?F) and a pH averaging 8.4.The enormous depth and tropical location of the lake can prevent 'turnover' of water masses, which means that much of the lower depths of the lake are so-called 'fossil water ' and are anoxic (lacking oxygen).The catchment area of the lake is 231,000 km 2 (89,000 sq mi). Two main rivers flow into the lake, as well as numerous smaller rivers and streams (whose lengths are limited by the steep mountains around the lake).There is one major outflow, the Lukuga River , which empties into the Congo River drainage.The major river flowing into the lake is the Ruzizi River , formed about 10,000 years ago, which enters the north of the lake from Lake Kivu .The Malagarasi River , which is Tanzania's second largest river, enters the east side of Lake Tanganyika. The Malagarasi is older than Lake Tanganyika and, before the lake was formed, directly drained into the Congo River.The lake has a complex history of changing flow patterns, due to its high altitude, great depth, slow rate of refill and mountainous location in a turbulently volcanic area that has undergone climate changes.Apparently it has rarely in the past had an outflow to the sea. It has been described as 'practically endorheic' for this reason. The lake's connection to the sea is dependent on a high water level allowing water to overflow out of the lake through the Lukunga into the Congo.Due to the lake's tropical location, it suffers a high rate of evaporation. Thus it depends on a high inflow through the Ruzizi out of Lake Kivu to keep the lake high enough to overflow. This outflow is apparently not more than 12,000 years old, and resulted from lava flows blocking and diverting the Kivu basin's previous outflow into Lake Edward and then the Nile system, and diverting it to Lake Tanganyika.Signs of ancient shorelines indicate that at times Tanganyika may have been up to 300 m lower than its present surface level, with no outlet to the sea. Even its current outlet is intermittent and may not have been operating when first visited by Western explorers in 1858.The lake may also have at times had different inflows and outflows: inward flows from a higher Lake Rukwa , access to Lake Malawi and an exit route to the Nile have all been proposed to have existed at some point in the lake's history.IslandsThere are several islands in Lake Tanganyika.The most important of them areKavala Island (The Democratic Republic of the Congo)Mamba-Kayenda Islands (The Democratic Republic of the Congo)Milima Island (The Democratic Republic of the Congo)Kibishie Island (The Democratic Republic of the Congo)Mutonowe Island ( Zambia) Kumbula Island ( Zambia)Thank You for Reading Once More. |
