Lake Victoria

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Lake Victoria or Nam Lolwe is one of the Great Lakes of Africa.

Lake Victoria is 68,800 square km in size, making it the continent's largest lake, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the second largest fresh water lake in the world in terms of surface area.

The Lake's 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.

Being relatively shallow for its size, with a maximum depth of 84 m and a mean depth of 40 m (131 ft), Lake Victoria ranks as the seventh largest freshwater lake by volume, containing 2,750 cubic km of water. It is the source of the longest branch of the Nile River, the White Nile, and has a water catchment area of 184,000 square kim. The lake lies within an elevated plateau in the western part of Africa's Great Rift Valley and is subject to territorial administration by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. The lake has a shoreline of 3,440 km (2138 miles), and has more than 3,000 islands, many of which are inhabited. These include the Ssese Islands in Uganda, a large group of islands in the northwest of the Lake that are becoming a popular destination for tourists.

Lake Victoria does have a season of deep vertical mixing when in fact the lake becomes isothermal.