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Lake Albert (Africa)

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Lake Albert
lake
Part ofAfrican Great Lakes Edit
Native labelMwitanzige, Nam Ovoyo Bonyo, Ziwa Albert, Lac Albert, Lake Albert Edit
InflowsSemliki River, Nkusi River, River Muzizi Edit
OutflowsWhite Nile Edit
Drainage basinNile basin Edit
Basin countryDemocratic Republic of the Congo Edit
Dem name afterPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Edit
CountryUganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo Edit
Coordinate location1°41′0″N 30°55′0″E Edit
Map
20230601 shrub Lake albert

Lake Albert, wey dem originally know am Lake Mwitanzige by de Banyoro, Nam Ovoyo Bonyo by de Alur, den temporarily as Lake Mobutu Sese Seko, be a lake wey dem locate for Uganda insyd den de Democratic Republic of de Congo. E be Africa ein sixth-largest lake den de second biggest of Uganda ein Great Lakes.

Geography

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Dem locate Lake Albert for de border between Uganda den de Democratic Republic of the Congo top. E be de northernmost of de chain of lakes for de Albertine Rift insyd, de western branch of de East African Rift.

E dey about 160 kilometres (99 mi) long den 30 kilometres (19 mi) across at ein widest, plus a maximum depth of 51 metres (167 ft), den a surface elevation of 619 metres (2,031 ft) above sea level.

Shoebill-Lake-Albert

Lake Albert dey part of de complicated system of de upper Nile. Ein main sources be de White Nile, wey dey ultimately come from Lake Victoria to de southeast, den de Semliki River, wey dey issue from Lake Edward to de southwest. De water of de Victoria Nile dey much less saline dan dat of Lake Albert. De lake ein outlet, at ein northernmost tip, be de Albert Nile section of de White Nile. De river dey later becam known as de Mountain Nile wen ein course dey enter South Sudan.

At de southern end of de lake, wey de Semliki dey come insyd, der be swamps. De Rwenzori Mountains dey to de south of de lake, den to de northwest be de Blue Mountains. De few settlements along de shore dey include Butiaba denPakwach.

Water characteristics

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Lake Albert Channel, Uganda (15192094327)

Unlike de very deep Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika den Lake Kivu, Lake Albert ein water temperature dey relatively stable thruout, typically around 27–29 °C (81–84 °F), den even ein deeper sections dey contain oxygen.[1]

Lake Albert view from de shoreline for Buhuka, Kikuube District insyd

De water get a pH of around anaa just below 9 den an electric conductivity of around 720–780 μS/cm. Dem be both very high give a freshwater lake but nevertheless lower dan Lake Edward.[2]

Animals

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Lake Albert be home to chaw aquatic den semi-aquatic animals like hippopotamuses, Uganda kob antelopes, Nile crocodiles, Nile monitors, African softshell turtles, Central African mud turtles, Williams' mud turtles, various semi-aquatic snakes den various frogs.[1] Water birds dey numerous den dey include pelicans, herons den de rare shoebill.[3]

Fish den fishing

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Der be 55 fish species for Lake Albert insyd.[4] Except give Nile crocodiles, de largest predator for de lake insyd be de Nile perch (native; unlike for oda Rift Valley lakes insyd wey introduce den invasive). Oda large predatory fish dey include de elongate tigerfish, African tigerfish, marbled lungfish, cornish jack, Bagrus docmak, African sharptooth catfish den vundu catfish.[1] In addition, der be important fisheries give de Nile tilapia, Niger barb, Albert lates, electric catfish den giraffe catfish dat dem use standard fishing methods catch'em,[4] den de small Brycinus nurse den Engraulicypris bredoi dat dem mainly use light fishing to catch'em.[5] As much as 30% of de fish production for Uganda insyd be from Lake Albert.[4]

Lake Albert get fewer endemics dan de oda African Great Lakes.[6] Although de Albert Nile–de section of de Nile dat dey leave Lake Albert—get several rapids for de Nimule region insyd,[7] dem no effectively isolate de lake from de main Nile sections.[6] For contrast insyd, Lake Edward (den ultimately Lake George), dem effectively isolate am from Lake Albert by de rapids for de Semliki River top, while Lake Kyoga (den ultimately Lake Victoria), dem effectively isolate am from Lake Albert by de Murchison Falls for de Victoria Nile top.[6][7] As a consequence, most of Lake Albert ein fish dey widespread riverine species wey dem sanso find for de main Nile sections. Der be few haplochromine cichlids; a group wey be very diverse for oda Rift Valley lakes insyd. Of de six haplochromines for Lake Albert insyd, four be endemic (Haplochromis albertianus, H. avium, H. bullatus den H. mahagiensis) den dem sanso find two for de Nile insyd (H. loati den Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor). For comparison insyd, most of de more dan 60 haplochromines for Lake Edward–George insyd den most of de roughly 600 haplochromines for Lake Victoria–Kyoga insyd be endemic.[6] De only oda endemic fish species for Lake Albert insyd be de small cyprinid Engraulicypris bredoi den de endangered Albert lates.[6]

History

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De Banyoro den Batooro still know Lake Albert as Mwitanzige, den Nam Ovoyo Bonyo by de Alur as well as oda pippoe wey inhabit de region give centuries before de colonial age. Dis name dey mean ‘locust killer’, from omwita ‘killer’ den enzige ‘locusts’ for de Runyoro language, den 'De Lake wey defeat de locusts' for de Alur language insyd, from Nam, 'Lake', Ovoyo, 'deafeat', Bonyo, 'Locusts'. Dis be sekof a local legend wey dey tell how a plague of locusts destroy de crops of de pippoe wey dey live for de eastern shore of de lake top, but wen dem try to cross to de oda side dem never go der.

For 1864 insyd, de explorers Samuel Baker den Flóra von Sass find de lake[8] den rename am after de recently deceased Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. For de 20th century insyd, Zairian Presido Mobutu Sese Seko temporarily name de lake after einself.

European colonialists operate shipping for de lake top. De British plan shipping for Lake Albert top as part of a network of railway, river steamer den lake steamer services wey e link British interests for Egypt insyd, east Africa den southern Africa. De John I. Thornycroft & Company shipyard at Wools ton, Hampshire build de cargo den passenger ship SS Robert Coryndon give dis purpose for 1930 insyd.[9] Dem name am after de British Army officer Robert Thorne Corydon, wey be governor of Uganda 1918–22.[10] Winston Churchill describe de ship as "de best library afloat" den Ernest Hemingway bell am "magnificence on water".[10] Dem either scuttle am for 1962 insyd[11] anaa sink for 1964 insyd.[11] She dey remain unsalvaged den partly submerged for de lake insyd at Butyaba landing site. Dem fi still see am to date.

Heritage Oil den Tullow Oil announce major oil finds for de Lake Albert basin insyd, plus estimates wey de multi-billion barrel field go prove to be de largest onshore field dem find for sub-Saharan Africa insyd give more dan twenty years.[12]

For March 2014 insyd, a boat wey dey carry Congolese refugees, e capsize for Lake Albert insyd, wey e kill more dan 250 pippoe.[13]

For 26 December 2016 top, a boat wey dey carry 45 members den fans of a local village football team capsize for Lake Albert insyd wey e kill at least 30 pippoe.[14]

For 24 December 2020 top, 30 people die wen a boat capsize while e dey travel from Uganda to de Democratic Republic of the Congo. De passengers dey concern about travel restrictions wey dem relate to de COVID-19 pandemic for Africa insyd.[15]

De Kibiro settlement for Lake Albert top get cultural den archeological significance.[16]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Green, J. (2009). "Nilotic Lakes of the Western Rift". In H.J. Dumont (ed.). The Nile. Monographiae Biologicae. Vol. 89. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. pp. 263–286. ISBN 978-1-4020-9725-6.
  2. ↑ Talling, J.F. (2009). "Physical and Chemical Water Characteristics". In H.J. Dumont (ed.). The Nile. Monographiae Biologicae. Vol. 89. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. pp. 367–394. ISBN 978-1-4020-9725-6.
  3. ↑ "Ramsar Sites". ugandawildlife.org. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Wandera, S.B.; J.S. Balirwa (2010). "Fish species diversity and relative abundance in Lake Albert—Uganda". Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management. 13 (3): 284–293. Bibcode:2010AqEHM..13..284W. doi:10.1080/14634988.2010.507120. S2CID 84735862.
  5. ↑ "The Lake Albert light fishery". National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (Uganda). 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Witte, F.; M.J.P. van Oijen; F.A. Sibbing (2009). "Fish Fauna of the Nile". In H.J. Dumont (ed.). The Nile. Monographiae Biologicae. Vol. 89. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. pp. 647–676. ISBN 978-1-4020-9725-6.
  7. 1 2 Dumont, H.J. (2009). "A Description of the Nile Basin, and a Synopsis of Its History, Ecology, Biogeography, Hydrology, and Natural Resources". In H.J. Dumont (ed.). The Nile. Monographiae Biologicae. Vol. 89. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. pp. 1–21. ISBN 978-1-4020-9725-6.
  8. ↑ Dorothy Middleton (2004). "Baker [née von Sass], Florence Barbara Maria, Lady Baker (1841–1916)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/42346. Retrieved 2015-09-11. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  9. ↑ Jitze Couperus (2009-04-06). "Jitze Couperus". Biog: The World Biography Project. Archived from the original on 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  10. 1 2 "Behold, a Dream Unfulfilled". Ugandan Insomniac; Want to sleep, can't sleep. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  11. 1 2 "darbykj's photostream". Flickr. 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2011-05-18 – via Yahoo!.
  12. ↑ "Oil & Gas | National Environment Management Authority". www.nema.go.ug. Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  13. ↑ "Uganda Lake Albert boat disaster 'killed 251 refugees'". BBC News. March 27, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  14. ↑ "At least 30 drown in Uganda Christmas drama on Lake Albert". MSN. Archived from the original on 2016-12-27.
  15. ↑ Kamale, Jean-Yves (December 24, 2020). "Boat capsizes between Uganda and Congo, killing more than 30". Associated Press. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  16. ↑ Connah, Graham (March 1, 1997). "The cultural and chronological context of Kibiro, Uganda". African Archaeological Review. 14 (1): 25–67. doi:10.1007/BF02968365. S2CID 128430380 – via Springer Link.
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