59-539: MV Ilala , formally Ilala II , is a motor ferry that has plied Lake Malawi in East Africa since 1951. Every week she crosses the lake all the way north to Chilumba , Malawi, near Tanzania (about 480 km or 300 mi from Monkey Bay) and then returns to Monkey Bay. She carries both passengers and freight, and calls at major towns on both the Malawian and Mozambican coast, as well as at two islands of
118-399: A British trading post, which formed the basis of the modern town, was opened there. British explorer Sir Harry Johnston bought the post in 1895 and ended the slave trade on Lake Nyasa's western shore. At this point Karonga became an important commercial and agricultural centre. According to Lonely Planet , the town "still bears a strong Swahili-Arab influence today." On 11 July 2008
177-417: A few hundred metres long. 1. Diplotaxodon , one of the very few cichlid genera that occurs offshore in relatively deep water. 2. Nimbochromis livingstonii is a piscivorous hap that is famous for playing dead to lure prey close. 3. As typical of utaka , Copadichromis azureus has bright blue males (shown) and duller females that are silvery with dark spots. 4. Aulonocara stuartgranti
236-585: A few hundred years ago. The Malawi haplochromines are mouthbrooders , but otherwise vary extensively in general behaviour and ecology. Within the Malawi haplochromines there are two main groups, the haps and the mbuna . The haps (they were formerly included in Haplochromis ) can be further subdivided into three subgroups: The relatively large, often more than 20 cm (8 in) long, and aggressive piscivores that roam various habitats in pursuit of prey,
295-527: A head in 1967 when Tanzania officially protested to Malawi; however nothing was settled. Occasional flare-ups of conflict occurred during the 1990s and in the 21st century. In 2012, Malawi's oil exploration initiative brought the issue to the fore, with Tanzania demanding that exploration cease until the dispute was settled. In 1954, an agreement was signed between the British and the Portuguese making
354-654: A manner comparable to the egg-spots on the anal fin of haplochromines. The vast majority of the fish species in the lake are cichlids. Among the non-cichlid native fish are several species of cyprinids (in genera Barbus , Labeo and Opsaridium , and the Lake Malawi sardine Engraulicypris sardella ), airbreathing catfish ( Bathyclarias and Clarias , and the kampango Bagrus meridionalis ), mochokid catfish ( Chiloglanis and Malawi squeaker Synodontis njassae ), Mastacembelus spiny eel, mormyrids ( Marcusenius , Mormyrops and Petrocephalus ),
413-529: A million and 6 million years ago. The discovery was at Malema excavation site 10 km (6 mi) from Karonga. In terms of more recent prehistory, Karonga has an abundance of Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological materials dating especially to the Middle and Later Stone Ages, as well as the Iron Age. Some time before 1877 Karonga existed as the stronghold of Mlozi, a famous Arab slaver. In 1883
472-548: A portion of the lake is included in Lake Malawi National Park . Lake Malawi is a meromictic lake , meaning that its water layers do not mix. The permanent stratification of Lake Malawi's water and the oxic- anoxic boundary are maintained by moderately small chemical and thermal gradients . Lake Malawi is between 560 kilometres (350 mi) and 580 kilometres (360 mi) long, and about 75 kilometres (47 mi) wide at its widest point. The lake has
531-504: A tooth of a hominid. "This latest discovery of prehistoric tools and remains of hominids provides additional proof to the theory that the Great Rift Valley of Africa and perhaps the excavation site near Karonga can be considered the cradle of humankind." Schrenk said. The site also contains some of the earliest dinosaurs which lived between 100 million and 140 million years ago and early hominids believed to have lived between
590-447: A total surface area of about 29,600 square kilometres (11,400 sq mi). The lake is 706 m (2,316 ft) at its deepest point , located in a major depression in the north-central part. Another smaller depression in the far north reaches a depth of 528 m (1,732 ft). The southern half of the lake is shallower; less than 400 m (1,300 ft) in the south-central part and less than 200 m (660 ft) in
649-507: Is at a depth of approximately 250 m (820 ft), effectively restricting fish and other aerobic organisms to the upper part. The water is very clear for a lake and the visibility can be up to 20 m (66 ft), but slightly less than half this figure is more common and it is below 3 m (10 ft) in muddy bays. However, during the rainy season months of January to March, the waters are more muddy due to muddy river inflows. The Portuguese trader Candido José da Costa Cardoso
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#1732783371094708-495: Is being split into two pieces. This is called a divergent plate tectonics boundary. Malawi has typically been estimated to be 1–2 million years old (mya), but more recent evidence points to a considerably older lake with a basin that started to form about 8.6 mya and deep-water condition first appeared 4.5 mya. The water levels have varied dramatically over time, ranging from almost 600 m (2,000 ft) below current level to 10–20 m (33–66 ft) above. During periods
767-464: Is commonly used in Karonga for both home and school. Karonga is known as " an island of Tumbuka language and culture in a sea of Ngonde people ." The economy of the area is based on cotton, rice and maize production along the lake and on coffee and livestock in the west. Karongans are dependent on subsistence fishing. Karonga's climate is classified as tropical . The summers are much rainier than
826-583: Is not found in the lake. Pelagic zooplanktonic species include two cladocerans ( Diaphanosoma excisum and Bosmina longirostris ), three copepods ( Tropodiaptomus cunningtoni , Thermocyclops neglectus and Mesocyclops aequatorialis ), and several ostracods (including both described and undescribed species ). Lake Malawi is famous for the huge swarms of tiny, harmless lake flies, Chaoborus edulis . These swarms, typically appearing far out over water, can be mistaken for plumes of smoke and were also noticed by David Livingstone when he visited
885-570: Is part of a group of relatively peaceful species popularly known as peacock cichlids . 5. Fossorochromis rostratus is an "aberrant" hap that often sifts mouthfuls of sand to extract small food organisms. 6. Like many mbuna , Pseudotropheus saulosi is a small cichlid where both male (blue and black) and female (yellow) are colorful. Lake Malawi is noted for being the site of evolutionary radiations among several groups of animals, most notably cichlid fish. There are at least 700 cichlid species in Lake Malawi, with some estimating that
944-688: Is the Tumbuka language, which is also a regional language of Northern Malawi . Pre-historic tools and remains of hominids discovered in Malawi's remote northern district of Karonga provides further proof that the area could be the cradle of humankind. Professor Friedemann Schrenk of the Goethe University in Frankfurt told Reuters News that two students working on the excavation site in September 2009 had discovered prehistoric tools and
1003-542: Is the fourth largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, the ninth largest lake in the world by area and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake in the world, including at least 700 species of cichlids . The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011, while in Malawi
1062-505: The African tetra Brycinus imberi , the poeciliid Aplocheilichthys johnstoni , the spotted killifish ( Nothobranchius orthonotus ), and the mottled eel ( Anguilla nebulosa ). At a genus level, most of these are widespread in Africa, but Bathyclarias is entirely restricted to the lake. Lake Malawi is home to 28 species of freshwater snails (including 16 endemics) and 9 bivalves (2 endemics, Aspatharia subreniformis and
1121-535: The BBC World Service broadcast a travelogue-style tribute in occasion of the Ilala ' s 60th anniversary, with interviews with managers, crew, passengers and tourists. The MV Ilala weekly calls at the following places (they are visited in this order when the boat is going north, and in the inverse order when the boat goes back south): In the past, the ship used to reach further north to Karonga and
1180-698: The Kayelekera mine in Karonga celebrated 1.5 million hours of accident-free uranium mining. "Analysts" claim this is a rare achievement. The mine previously met with controversy due to exposing people to radiation. In December 2009 the area suffered a series of earthquakes . Karonga is at an elevation of 478 metres (1,568 ft) on the western shore of Lake Nyasa . It is situated 28 kilometres ( 17 + 1 ⁄ 4 mi) from Kenan Ngomba , 18 km (11 mi) from Kaporo , 42.5 km ( 26 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi) from Kilondo and 12 km ( 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi) from Lupembe . Tumbuka
1239-760: The increasing human population near the lake, but some are exported from Malawi. The wild population of fish is increasingly threatened by overfishing and water pollution . A drop in the lake's water level represents another threat, and is believed to be driven by water extraction by the increasing human population, climate change and deforestation . The chambo and kampango have been particularly overfished (the kampango declined by about 90% from 2006 to 2016, O. karongae and O. squamipinnis by about 94%, and O. lidole might already be extinct ) and they are now seriously threatened . The IUCN recognises 117 species of Malawi cichlids as threatened; some of these have tiny ranges and may be restricted to rocky coastlines only
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#17327833710941298-495: The unionid Nyassunio nyassaensis ). The endemic freshwater snails are all members of the genera Bellamya , Bulinus , Gabbiella , Lanistes and Melanoides . Lake Malawi is home to a total of four snail species in the genus Bulinus , which is a known intermediate host of bilharzia . A survey in Monkey Bay in 1964 found two endemic species of snails of the genus ( B. nyassanus and B. succinoides ) in
1357-639: The MV Ilala in his book Malawi, Livingstone's Lake : Each day on board, amid the excited bell ringing, siren shrieks and hooting that seem inseparable from all maritime arrivals and departures, laughing crowds of Malawians line up on the Ilala's deck to disembark, cluttered up with baggage that includes bicycles, cages filled with squawking fowl, sewing machines and even tethered goats. They are ferried ashore in lighters to return an hour or so later crammed with another batch of passengers who quickly settle down in
1416-589: The Malawi system, which also includes nearby smaller Lake Malombe and the upper Shire River. Many of these have become popular among aquarium owners due to their bright colors. Recreating a Lake Malawi biotope to host cichlids became quite popular in the aquarium hobby. Most Malawi cichlids are found in relatively shallow coastal waters, but Diplotaxodon has been recorded down to depths of 200–220 m (660–720 ft) and several (especially Diplotaxodon , Rhamphochromis and Copadichromis quadrimaculatus ) are known from pelagic waters. The cichlids of
1475-459: The Shire River are vital for the economy as the water resources support hydropower, irrigation and downstream biodiversity. Concerns have been raised over the future climate change impacts of Lake Malawi due to the recent decline in lake levels and the overall drying trend. The climate in the lake region is already experiencing changes, with the temperatures predicted to increase throughout
1534-416: The actual figure is as high as 1,000 species. The actual number is labelled with some uncertainty because of the many undescribed species and the extreme variation among some species, making the task of delimiting them very complex. Except for four species ( Astatotilapia calliptera , Coptodon rendalli , Oreochromis shiranus and Serranochromis robustus ), all cichlids in the lake are endemic to
1593-534: The adults die. The larvae are an important food source for fish, and the adult flies are important both to birds and local people, who collect them to make kungu cakes/burgers, a local delicacy with a very high protein content. In January 2015, a sediment control tank collapsed at the Paladin Energy -owned uranium mine in Northern Malawi after a high intensity rain storm hit the area. It
1652-432: The bilharzia parasite. Unlike Lake Tanganyika with its many endemic freshwater crabs and shrimp, there are few such species in Lake Malawi. The Malawi blue crab, Potamonautes lirrangensis ( syn. P. orbitospinus ), is the only crab in the lake and it is not endemic. The atyid shrimp Caridina malawensis is endemic to the lake, but it is poorly known and has historically been confused with C. nilotica , which
1711-522: The border. The wrangle in this dispute occurred when the British colonial government, just after they had captured Tanganyika from Germany, placed all of the waters of the lake under a single jurisdiction, that of the territory of Nyasaland , without a separate administration for the Tanganyikan portion of the surface. Later in colonial times, two jurisdictions were established. The dispute came to
1770-545: The country. The lake is about 350 kilometres (220 mi) southeast of Lake Tanganyika , another of the great lakes of the East African Rift. The Lake Malawi National Park is located at the southern end of the lake. Malawi is one of the major Rift Valley lakes and an ancient lake . The lake lies in a valley formed by the opening of the East African Rift , where the African tectonic plate
1829-477: The cramped quarters to cards and singing and sleeping and the preparation of meals in little cooking pots. It all looks and sounds like a cross between Hampstead Heath on a Bank holiday and an Eastern market, but when the ship weighs anchor again the noise dies down and the first class passengers resume in their novels, their deck chairs and their worship of the sun. The ship has been depicted in several postage stamps of Nyasaland /Malawi. In 2009, BBC Radio 4 and
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1888-693: The far south. The lake has shorelines on western Mozambique , eastern Malawi , and southern Tanzania . The largest river flowing into it is the Ruhuhu River , and there is an outlet at its southern end, the Shire River , a tributary that flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Evaporation accounts for more than 80% of the water loss from the lake, considerably more than the outflowing Shire River. The outflows from Lake Malawi into
1947-587: The first person to swim the full length of Lake Malawi (54 days), as well as setting the world record for longest solo swim in a lake Karonga Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi . Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa , it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2018 estimates, Karonga has a population of 61,609. The common and major language spoken in this district
2006-516: The lake ( Likoma and Chizumulu ). While the ferry is often late (reportedly by as much as 24 hours or more) and has sometimes broken down she remains the most important means of long-distance transport for the people living on the coast of the lake. She is 52 m (172 ft) long overall, has a gross tonnage of 620 tons and can accommodate up to 365 passengers and 100 tons of cargo. Yarrow Shipbuilders at Scotstoun near Glasgow , Scotland built Ilala for Nyasaland Railways in 1949. As she
2065-499: The lake are divided into two groups and the vast majority of the species are haplochromines . The sister species to the Malawi haplochromines is Astatotilapia sp. Ruaha (a currently undescribed species from Great Ruaha River ), and these two separated between 2.13 and 6.76 million years ago (mya). The earliest divergence within the Malawi haplochromines occurred between 1.20 and 4.06 mya, but most radiations in this group are far younger; in extreme cases species may have diverged only
2124-493: The lake dried out almost completely, leaving only one or two relatively small, highly alkaline and saline lakes in what currently are Malawi's deepest parts. A water chemistry resembling the current conditions only appeared about 60,000 years ago. Major low-water periods are estimated to have occurred about 1.6 to 1.0–0.57 million years ago (where it might have dried out completely), 420,000 to 250,000–110,000 years ago, about 25,000 years ago and 18,000–10,700 years ago. During
2183-477: The lake's surface area between Malawi and Tanzania is under dispute. Tanzania claims that the international border runs through the middle of the lake. On the other hand, Malawi claims the whole of the surface of this lake that is not in Mozambique, including the waters that are next to the shoreline of Tanzania. Both sides cite the Heligoland Treaty of 1890 between Great Britain and Germany concerning
2242-498: The lake, and two non-endemic species ( B. globosus and B. forskalli ) in lagoons separated from it. The latter species are known intermediate hosts of bilharzia, and larvae of the parasite were detected in water containing these, but in experiments C. Wright of the British Museum of Natural History was unable to infect the two species endemic to the lake with the parasites. The field workers, who spent many hours on and in
2301-401: The lake, did not find either B. globosus or B. forskalli in the lake itself. More recently, the disease has become a problem in the lake itself as the endemic B. nyassanus has become an intermediate host. This change, first noticed in the mid-1980s, is possibly related to a decline in snail-eating cichlids (for example, Trematocranus placodon ) due to overfishing and/or a new strain of
2360-850: The lake, the Hermann von Wissmann , commanded by Captain Berndt. Rhoades's crew found the Hermann von Wissmann in a bay near Sphinxhaven , in German East African territorial waters. Gwendolen disabled the German boat with a single cannon shot from a range of about 1,800 metres (2,000 yd). This brief conflict was hailed by The Times in England as the British Empire's first naval victory of World War I. The partition of
2419-411: The lake. The aquatic larvae feed on zooplankton, spending the day at the bottom and the night in the upper water levels. When they pupate they float to the surface and transform into adult flies. The adults are very short-lived and the swarms, which can be several hundred metres tall and often have a spiraling shape, are part of their mating behaviour. They lay their eggs at the water's surface and
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2478-520: The mbuna, a name used both locally and popularly, which means "rockfish" in Tonga . They are found at rocky outcrops, territorially aggressive (although commonly found in high densities) and often specialised aufwuchs feeders. The mbuna species tend to be relatively small, mostly less than 13 cm (5 in) long, and often both sexes are brightly colored with males having egg-shaped yellow spots on their anal fin (a feature particularly prevalent in
2537-468: The mbuna, but not exclusive to this group). The second group, the tilapia , comprises only six species in two genera in Lake Malawi: The redbreast tilapia ( Coptodon rendalli ), a widespread African species, is the only substrate-spawning cichlid in the lake. This large cichlid mainly feeds on macrophytes . The remaining are five mouthbrooding species of Oreochromis ; four chambo in
2596-572: The middle of the lake their boundary with the exception of Chizumulu Island and Likoma Island , which were kept by the British and are now part of Malawi. MV Chauncy Maples began service on the lake in 1901 as the SS Chauncy Maples : a floating clinic and church for the Universities' Mission to Central Africa . She later served as a ferry and is currently being renovated into a mobile clinic at Monkey Bay . The renovation
2655-503: The most popular are the four species of chambo, consisting of any one of four species in the subgenus Nyasalapia ( Oreochromis karongae , O. lidole , O. saka and O. squamipinnis ), as well as the closely related O. shiranus . Other species that support important fisheries include the Lake Malawi sardine ( Engraulicypris sardella ) and the large kampango catfish ( Bagrus meridionalis ). Most fishing provides food for
2714-509: The open-water (although often not far from sand or rocks) utaka that feed in schools on zooplankton and typically are of medium size, and finally a subgroup of "aberrant" species that essentially are defined by them not fitting clearly into the other subgroups. Adult male haps generally display bright colors, while juveniles of both sexes and adult females typically show a silvery or grey coloration with sometimes irregular black bars or other markings. The second main haplochromine group are
2773-434: The peak of the low-water period between 1390 and 1860 AD , it may have been 120–150 m (390–490 ft) below current water levels. The lake's water is alkaline ( pH 7.7–8.6) and warm with a typical surface temperature between 24 and 29 °C (75–84 °F), while deep sections typically are about 22 °C (72 °F). The thermocline is located at a depth of 40–100 m (130–330 ft). The oxygen limit
2832-538: The ship was dismantled and transported to Malawi (then Nyasaland ) in pieces, first by ship to Mozambique and then from Beira, Mozambique by rail and road to Chipoka . She is operated by Malawi Lake Services and based in Monkey Bay , Malawi (on the southern end of the lake); She began operating in 1951, and has run continuously since then, except for periods of maintenance. She also survived several groundings. Some steel panels have been repaired over time, and she
2891-512: The short strip of the northern coast of the lake belonging to Tanzania , but this route has been discontinued. Lake Malawi Lake Malawi , also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique , ( Swahili : Ziwa Nyasa ) is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi , Mozambique and Tanzania. It
2950-583: The subgenus Nyasalapia ( O. karongae , O. lidole , O. saka and O. squamipinnis ) that are endemic to the Lake Malawi system, as well as the closely related O. shiranus , which also is found in Lake Chilwa . The Malawi Oreochromis mainly feed on phytoplankton , reach lengths up to 26–42 cm (10–17 in) depending on the exact species, and are mostly black or silvery-gray with relatively indistinct dark bars. Male chambo have unique genital tassels when breeding, which aid in egg fertilisation in
3009-579: The unpredictable and extremely violent gales that sweep through the area, he also referred to it as the Lake of Storms. On 16 August 1914, Lake Malawi was the scene of a brief naval battle during World War I . The British gunboat SS Gwendolen , commanded by a Captain Rhoades, received orders from the British Empire's high command to "sink, burn, or destroy" the German Empire's only gunboat on
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#17327833710943068-586: The winters in Karonga. The climate here is classified as Aw by the Köppen-Geiger system . In Karonga, the average annual temperature is 25.6 °C (78.8 °F). The Cultural & Museum Centre Karonga is Karonga's most popular attraction to tourists. It is home to the Malawisaurus , a 150-million-year-old fossil discovered 45 kilometres (28 mi) south of Karonga. It displays an exhibit entitled "From Dinosaurs to Democracy", which chronicles
3127-693: Was carrying 100,000 passengers each year., but as of 2014 she was out of service. She normally serves the southern part of the lake but if Ilala was out of service she operated the route to Karonga. The Tanzanian ferry MV Songea was built in 1988. Her operator was the Tanzania Railway Corporation Marine Division until 1997, when it became the Marine Services Company Limited . Songea plies weekly between Liuli and Nkhata Bay via Itungi and Mbamba Bay . The worst Lake disaster
3186-530: Was expected to be complete during the first half of 2014, but was halted in 2017. MV Mpasa entered service in 1935. The ferry MV Ilala entered service in 1951. In recent years she has often been out of service, but when operational she runs between Monkey Bay at the southern end of the lake to Karonga on the northern end, and occasionally to the Iringa Region of Tanzania. The ferry MV Mtendere entered service in 1980. By 1982 she
3245-465: Was re-engined in the 1990s. When Ilala has been out of service for maintenance, she was usually replaced by a companion, newer ferry called MV Mtendere (which means "peace" in Chewa ), which otherwise only cruises the southern part of the lake. The MV Chambo also provides additional coverage for Ilala . British historian, traveller and writer Oliver Ransford thus describes life aboard
3304-1278: Was revealed that approximately 50 litres of non radioactive material leaked into a local creek. Despite reports in local media of radioactive contamination the government conducted independent scientific tests on the local river system and found that there was no effect on the environment. The 25 km solo swim across Lake Malawi between Cape Ngomba and Senga Bay has been accomplished on 5 occasions by 16 swimmers 1992: Lewis Pugh 9hrs 52 minutes (UK/South Africa) and Otto Thanning (South Africa) 10hrs 5 minutes 2010: Abigail Brown (UK) 9hrs 45 minutes 2013: Milko van Gool (Netherlands) 8hrs 46 minutes and Kaitlin Harthoorn (US) 9hrs 17 minutes 2016: (current record) Jean Craven (South Africa), Robert Dunford (Kenya), Michiel Le Roux (South Africa), Samantha Whelpton (South Africa), Greig Bannatyne (South Africa), Haydn Von Maltitz (South Africa), Douglas Livingstone-Blevins (South Africa) 7hrs 53 mins 2019: Chris Stapley ( Eswatini ) and Jay Azran (South Africa) 8hrs 40 minutes, Andrew Stevens ( Australia ) 10hrs 50 minutes, and Ruth Azran (South Africa) 11hrs 8 minutes. That same year, Martin Hobbs (South Africa), became
3363-410: Was the first European to visit the lake in 1846. David Livingstone reached the lake in 1859, and named it Lake Nyasa. He also referred to it by a pair of nicknames: Lake of Stars and Lake of Storms. The Lake of Stars nickname came after Livingstone observed lights from the lanterns of the fishermen in Malawi on their boats, that resemble, from a distance, stars in the sky. Later, after experiencing
3422-415: Was the second boat to be built for service on Lake Malawi (the first being built in 1875 at Poplar ), and her predecessor was called Ilala , the ship was formally named Ilala II , but she is now commonly called just Ilala and this is also how the name is painted on the hull. In turn, the first Ilala was named after the Ilala region of Zambia , where David Livingstone was first buried. Once built,
3481-465: Was the sinking of the MV ; Vipya in 1946, which resulted in 145 deaths. Wildlife found in and around Lake Malawi or Nyasa includes Nile crocodiles , hippopotamus , monkeys , and a significant population of African fish eagles that feed off fish from the lake. Lake Malawi has for millennia provided a major food source to the residents of its shores since its waters are rich in fish. Among
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