Lake Albert, originally known as Lake Mwitanzige by the Banyoro, Nam Ovoyo Bonyo by the Alur, and temporarily as Lake Mobutu Sese Seko, is a lake located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is Africa's sixth-largest lake and the second biggest of Uganda's Great Lakes.

Geography

Lake Albert is located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the northernmost of the chain of lakes in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift.

It is about long and across at its widest, with a maximum depth of , and a surface elevation of above sea level.

Lake Albert is part of the complicated system of the upper Nile. Its main sources are the White Nile, ultimately coming from Lake Victoria to the southeast, and the Semliki River, which issues from Lake Edward to the southwest. The water of the Victoria Nile is much less saline than that of Lake Albert. The lake's outlet, at its northernmost tip, is the Albert Nile section of the White Nile. The river later becomes known as the Mountain Nile when its course enters South Sudan.

At the southern end of the lake, where the Semliki comes in, there are swamps. The Rwenzori Mountains are to the south of the lake, and to the northwest are the Blue Mountains. The few settlements along the shore include Butiaba and Pakwach.

Water characteristics

Unlike the very deep Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kivu, Lake Albert's water temperature is relatively stable throughout, typically around , and even its deeper sections contain oxygen.

The water has a pH of around or just below 9 and an electric conductivity of around 720–780 μS/cm. These are both very high for a freshwater lake but nevertheless lower than Lake Edward.

Animals

Lake Albert is home to many aquatic and 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 and various frogs.

Fish and fishing

There are 55 fish species in Lake Albert. Except for Nile crocodiles, the largest predator in the lake is the Nile perch (native; unlike in other Rift Valley lakes where introduced and invasive). Other large predatory fish include the elongate tigerfish, African tigerfish, marbled lungfish, cornish jack, Bagrus docmak, African sharptooth catfish and vundu catfish. As much as 30% of the fish production in Uganda is from Lake Albert. Although the Albert Nile–the section of the Nile that leaves Lake Albert—has several rapids in the Nimule region, these have not effectively isolated the lake from the main Nile sections. and renamed it after the recently deceased Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. In the 20th century, Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko temporarily named the lake after himself.

European colonialists operated shipping on the lake. The British planned shipping on Lake Albert as part of a network of railway, river steamer and lake steamer services linking British interests in Egypt, east Africa and southern Africa. The John I. Thornycroft & Company shipyard at Woolston, Hampshire built the cargo and passenger ship for this purpose in 1930. She was named after the British Army officer Robert Thorne Coryndon, who was governor of Uganda 1918–22. Winston Churchill described the ship as "the best library afloat" and Ernest Hemingway called her "magnificence on water". or sank in 1964.

In March 2014, a boat carrying Congolese refugees capsized in Lake Albert, killing more than 250 people.

On 26 December 2016, a boat carrying 45 members and fans of a local village football team capsized in Lake Albert killing at least 30 people.

On 24 December 2020, thirty people died when a boat capsized en route from Uganda to Congo. The passengers were concerned about travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.

The Kibiro settlement on Lake Albert has cultural and archeological significance.

See also

  • Energy in Uganda

References

  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • World Lakes Database entry for Lake Albert
  • "East African Railways and Harbours, Marine Services": photos of East African lake ferries including SS Robert Coryndon