Lake Kariba

Lake Kariba

reservoir

Impounded by	Kariba Dam
Inflows	Zambezi River, Sengwa River, Munyati River
Outflows	Zambezi River
Drainage basin	Zambezi Basin
Basin country	Zimbabwe
Country	Zimbabwe, Zambia
Coordinate location	17°0′0″S 28°0′0″E

Lake Kariba be de world ein largest artificial lake den reservoir by volume. E dey lie 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) upstream from de mouth of de Zambezi river on de Indian Ocean, along de border between Zambia den Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba be filled between 1958 den 1963 dey follow de completion of de Kariba Dam at ein northeastern end, flooding de Kariba Gorge on de Zambezi River.

Na dem build de Zimbabwean town of Kariba give construction workers on de lake ein dam, while some oda settlements such as Binga village den Mlibizi insyd Zimbabwe den Siavonga den Sinazongwe insyd Zambia dem expand to house people wey de damming of de river displace.

Physical characteristics

Lake Kariba be over 223 kilometres (139 miles) long den up to 40 kilometres (25 miles) insyd width. E dey cover an area of 5,580 square kilometres (2,150 square miles) den ein storage capacity be 185 cubic kilometres (44 cubic miles). De mean depth of de lake be 29 metres (95 feet); de maximum depth be 97 metres (318 feet). E be de world ein largest man-made reservoir by volume, four times as large as de Three Gorges Dam. De enormous mass of water be believed to have caused induced seismicity insyd de seismically active region, wey dey include over 20 earthquakes of greater dan 5 magnitude on de Richter scale.

De lake get several islands, wwey dey include Maaze Island, Mashape Island, Chete Island, Sekula Island, Sampa Karuma, Fothergill, Spurwing, Snake Island, Antelope Island, Bed Island, den Chikanka.

Ecology

Kariba Dam

During de filling-up phase of de lake, na de water be high insyd nutrients wey dey cam from decomposing, inundated vegetation, creating a thick layer of fertile soil on land dat became de lake bed. As a result, de ecology of Lake Kariba be vibrant. Na dem introduce a number of fish species to de lake, notably de sardine-like Kapenta (dem transport from Lake Tanganyika), wich now dey support a thriving commercial fishery. Oda inhabitants of Lake Kariba dey include Nile crocodiles den hippopotamuses.

Gamefish, particularly tigerfish, wich be among de indigenous species of de Zambezi river system, now thrive on de kapenta, wich in turn dey encourage tourism. Both Zambia den Zimbabwe now dey attempt to develop de tourism industry along dema respective coasts of Lake Kariba.

Fish eagles, cormorants den oda water birds patrol de shorelines, as do large numbers of elephants den oda big game species wey dey include lion, cheetah, leopard, buffalo den a myriad of smaller plains game species. De southern Matusadona National Park once be a haven give black den white rhinoceros, buh na recent poaching activity dramatically reduce dema numbers.

Protected areas

De portion of Lake Kariba wich dey fall within Zimbabwe be designated a recreational park within de Zimbabwe Parks den Wildlife Estate.

External links

• "Lake Kariba". Zambiatourism.com. Retrieved August 11, 2005.
• "Dam Statistics: Africa and the Middle East Regions". World Commission on Dams. Retrieved August 11, 2005.
• World Lakes Database entry for Lake Kariba