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21-668: Lake Mweru Wantipa is a rift valley lake lying in a branch of the East African Rift , running from the Luapula River to Lake Tanganyika. There are some hot springs characteristics of a rift valley to the east. Its water is muddy in appearance, at times appearing reddish and 'slightly oily'. In the local dialect "wa ntipa" means "with mud", hence "Mweru Wantipa" distinguishes it from its bigger neighbour, Lake Mweru , which has clearer water. Rivers and streams, none very large, flow into Lake Mweru Wantipa and its swamps from

42-416: A more useful indicator than maximum depth for many ecological purposes. Unfortunately, accurate mean depth figures are only available for well-studied lakes, as they must be calculated by dividing the lake's volume by its surface area. A reliable volume figure requires a bathymetric survey. Therefore, mean depth figures are not available for many deep lakes in remote locations. The average lake on Earth has

63-490: A number of amphibian species, including Amietophrynus kisoloensis , Bufo keringyagae , Cardioglossa cyaneospila , and Nectophryne batesii . The Southern Rift Valley lakes are like the Western Rift Valley lakes in that, with one exception, they are freshwater lakes. List of lakes by depth These articles lists the world's deepest lakes . This list contains all lakes whose maximum depth

84-568: A series of lakes in the East African Rift valley that runs through eastern Africa from Ethiopia in the north to Malawi in the south, and includes the African Great Lakes in the south. These include some of the world's oldest lakes, deepest lakes , largest lakes by area , and largest lakes by volume . Many are freshwater ecoregions of great biodiversity , while others are alkaline "soda lakes" supporting highly specialised organisms. The Rift Valley lakes are well known for

105-854: Is reliably known to exceed 400 metres (1,300 ft) Geologically, the Caspian Sea , like the Black and Mediterranean seas, is a remnant of the ancient Tethys Ocean . The deepest area is oceanic rather than continental crust. However, it is generally regarded by geographers as a large endorheic salt lake . Of these registered lakes; 10 have a deepest point above the sea level. These are: Issyk-Kul , Crater Lake , Quesnel , Sarez , Toba , Tahoe , Kivu , Nahuel Huapi , Van and Poso . ~900 ~2953 719 2,359 1.33 × 10 ^ 2.26 × 10 ^ 482 1,581 6.93 × 10 ^ 475 1,558 453 1,486 2.33 × 10 ^ 420 1,378 410 1,345 Mean depth can be

126-446: 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. 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

147-713: The Central African lakes. Lakes Albert, Victoria, and Edward are part of the Nile River basin. Lake Victoria (elevation 1,134 metres (3,720 ft)), with an area of 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi), is the largest lake in Africa. It is not in the Rift Valley, instead occupying 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

168-608: The Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes are of great importance to Ethiopia's economy, as well as being essential to the survival of the local people, there were no intensive and extensive limnological studies undertaken of these lakes until recently. The major ones are Lake Tana , the source of the Blue Nile , lies in the Ethiopian highlands north of the Rift Valley; however, it is not a Rift Valley lake. South of

189-724: The Ethiopian highlands, the rift valley splits into two major troughs. The Eastern Rift is home to the Kenyan Rift Valley lakes, while most of the Central African Rift Valley lakes lie in the Western Rift. This area includes the Gregory Rift in Kenya and Tanzania. The Kenyan section of the Rift Valley is home to eight lakes, of which three are freshwater and the rest alkaline. Of the latter,

210-701: The Mporokoso plateau about 32 km south, and the hills to the north-east in DR Congo. It was thought to drain via its south-western swamps and a dambo called the Mofwe into the Kalungwishi River , which flows into Lake Mweru. However, at the junction of the Kalungwishi and the Mofwe, the elevation is 942 m but the surface of the lake is at only 932 m. It is evident that the Kalungwishi overflows in

231-508: The evolution of at least 800 cichlid fish species that live in their waters. More species are expected to be discovered. The World Wide Fund for Nature has designated these lakes as one of its Global 200 priority ecoregions for conservation. Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika have formed in the various valleys of the East African Rift zone. Lake Kivu's "still waters ... hide another face: dissolved within are billions of cubic meters of flammable methane and more still of carbon dioxide,

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252-492: The lake is the town of Kaputa , which also forms an administrative district of the Northern Province. At one time the principal road serving the lake was the one from Mporokoso to its south-east shore where there was a ferry at Bulaya, but that has deteriorated and now the main highway is the one from Lake Mweru along the western and northern shores to Kaputa. Rift Valley lakes The Rift Valley lakes are

273-545: The lake surface, much of the marshes and part of the southern shore. The lake is only a few kilometres from the DR Congo border on its northern side and wars and conflicts in that country have caused many thousands of refugees to enter the district at Kaputa, putting pressure on resources. Most of the refugees have been moved to camps in Kawambwa and Mporokoso districts before repatriation. The main centre of population on

294-486: The lake. Lake Mweru Wantipa's fishery has been productive in the past but has been depleted in recent years. The lake supports a large population of hippopotamus and crocodiles. Except for birds and waterfowl, the wildlife on land and in the marshes, once extensive, has been reduced despite the existence of the Mweru Wantipa National Park . The park lies mainly on the lake's western shore but covers

315-560: The mean depth 41.8 meters (137.14 feet) The Caspian Sea ranks much further down the list on mean depth, as it has a large continental shelf (significantly larger than the oceanic basin that contains its greatest depths). Of the 121 registered lakes; 64 are known to be cryptodepressions . These include: Vostok (subglacial surface), Concordia (subglacial surface), ( Caspian Sea ) (subsea surface), Dead Sea (subsea surface) and Jökulsárlón (glacial lagoon estuary). The remaining 57 lakes have got their entire basin above

336-470: The northern end, giving a surface area of about 1500 km². In the south-east at Kampinda, a peninsula divides off a swampy inlet containing the Chimbwe Pools and a lagoon called Lake Cheshi. However at various times in the recent past it has been reported to be not a lake but a swamp with hardly any open water surface, and even to be a plain of dried out mud (littered with fish scales and bones, and

357-444: The rainy season into Mweru Wantipa, but perhaps not vice versa, though one report in 1931 after very heavy rains reported a flood from the Mofwe into the Kalungwishi. Most of the time, though, Mweru Wantipa has no outlet and forms an isolated river basin. Around 2005, Lake Mweru Wantipa's main north-east to south-west axis was about 65 km long and it was about 20 km wide, but a narrow branch extends roughly 30 km east from

378-749: The result of volcanic gases seeping in." The Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes are the northernmost of the African Rift Valley lakes. In central Ethiopia , the Main Ethiopian Rift , also known as the Great Rift Valley, splits the Ethiopian highlands into northern and southern halves, and the Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes occupy the floor of the rift valley between the two highlands. Most of the Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes do not have an outlet, and most are alkaline . Although

399-661: The shallow soda lakes of the Eastern Rift Valley have crystallised salt turning the shores white and are famous for the large flocks of flamingo that feed on crustaceans . All the lakes in the Tanzanian section of this group are alkaline: 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

420-497: The skeletons of dead crocodiles and hippos). These variations in open water surface occur not just within a single dry and rainy season cycle, but over years or decades. For instance it was reported as being a lake in 1890, 1897, 1911, 1919 and 1938, but a swamp in 1892, 1900–11, 1912–19, and 1922; and as having dried out around 1916. Its greatest depth has been reported as 5 m, but at times may be less than 1 m deep over most of its surface. The salinity also shows long term variation, it

441-431: Was reported as being freshwater in 1929 and 1939, but saline in 1949. While rainfall is the main factor, this may not be the complete story. Blockage of the Mofwe and of the rivers draining into Mweru Wantipa by papyrus and the growth of rushes may be part of the answer. It may also be that the effects of dry years may be delayed for a few years by the release of groundwater from surrounding hills into dambos which flow into

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