Lake Bangweulu ('where the water meets the sky') is a freshwater lake in northern Zambia. Bangweulu is one of the world's great wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Wetlands and the Bangweulu flats or floodplain. Situated in the upper Congo River basin in Zambia, the Bangweulu system covers an almost completely flat area roughly the size of Connecticut or East Anglia, at an elevation of 1,140 m straddling Zambia's Luapula Province and Northern Province. It is crucial to the economy and biodiversity of northern Zambia, and to the birdlife of a much larger region, and faces environmental stress and conservation issues.

With a long axis of 75&nbsp;km and a width of up to 40&nbsp;km, Lake Bangweulu's permanent open water surface is about 3,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, which expands when its swamps and floodplains are in flood at the end of the rainy season in May. The combined area of the lake and wetlands reaches 15,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. The lake has an average depth of only 4&nbsp;m, and a maximum depth of 10 m.

The Bangweulu system is fed by about seventeen rivers of which the Chambeshi (the source of the Congo River) is the largest, and is drained by the Luapula River. The spot is marked by the Livingstone Memorial (see map). The lake was partially surveyed in 1883 by the French traveller, Victor Giraud, and first circumnavigated by Poulett Weatherley in 1896.thumb|Lake Bangweulu (red) and the Congo River system|leftIt was a desire for the riches of Bangweulu's fisheries and game-rich floodplain which motivated King Leopold II of Belgium to insist, in border negotiations between his Congo Free State and the British in Northern Rhodesia, on a land corridor reaching Bangweulu from Katanga. This resulted in the shape of the Congo Pedicle (34) which, as it turned out, does not penetrate the area enough to be of the desired value.

The first Christian missions in Bangweulu were founded in the early 1900s under the authority of Bishop Joseph Dupont of the Catholic White Fathers who was based north of Kasama.

Human settlement

The area of the lake is inhabited by the Bisa in Chilubi and Mpika, the Bemba in Luwingu, the Unga in Lunga, the Kabende in Samfya, the Ngumbo in Lubwe, the BenaMukulu in Chungu and affiliated tribes who all speak Chibemba. The Bemba heartland of Paramount Chief Chitimukulu lies to the north-east, around Kasama.200px|thumb|Catfish and bream hauled in from Bangweulu (from Africa Through a Lens)|left

Fishery

The lake supports a seasonal fishing industry and the population may increase markedly during the season. In 1989 the average annual catch was estimated at 11,900 tonnes, caught by 10,300 people using 5305 dugout canoes, 114 plank and fibreglass boats, and only 54 outboard motors. In 2000 the catch was 13,500&nbsp;t.

Natural gas pipeline

In early 2004 a private European natural gas company finished preliminary plans to lay a pipeline which would cut directly through the Southeast portion of the lake. Part of this plan was a proposed dam to allow for partial drainage of the required part of the lake. This plan was met with harsh opposition from the local people as well as environmental activists. After much court-wrangling and lengthy hearings on the project, the plan was disposed of by the European company as they built a detour for their pipeline in the surrounding province.

Towns and districts

The largest town, Samfya lies on the south-western shore and is the principal base for road and boat transport and tourism, as well as being the administrative centre for Samfya District covering about three-quarters of the lake and swamps. Chilubi District covers most of the rest, its boma is on Chilubi Island (6), which is bordered by the swamps to the east. Luwingu District just touches the lake at Nsombo, which is the principal town at the northern end of the lake. Mpika and Kasama districts just touch the eastern and southern margins of the floodplain, and Serenje District and the Congo Pedicle just reach the southern margin of the floodplain.

Sections of Lake Bangweulu

:Numbers in round brackets like so — (12) — refer to locations on the satellite image.

thumb|left|Samfya beach.

thumb|right|350px|Satellite photograph of Lake Bangweulu (upper left) and the Bangweulu Swamps (centre). Water shows as dark green. Key: 1 Lake Chifunabuli, 2 Ifunge Peninsula, 3 Mbabala Island, 4 Lake Walilupe, 5 Chishi Island, 6 Chilubi Island, 7 Ifunge Mwenzi Island, 8 Nsumbu Island, 9 Lake Kampolombo, 10 Kapata Peninsula, 11 Lake Kangwena, 12 Lake Chali, 13 Lake Chaya, 14 Lake Wumba, 15 Pook Lagoon, 16 Lupososhi Estuary, 17 Luena Estuary, 18 Lukuto Estuary, 19 Chambeshi Estuary, 20 Luansenshi River, 21 Grassy floodplains, 22 Chichile Island, 23 Kasansa Island, 24 Panyo Island, 25 Nsalushi Island, 26 Ncheta Island, 27 Lunga Bank, 28 Kasenga, 29 Kataba, 30 Lubwe, 31 Kasaba, 32 Twingi, 33 Chaba, 34 Congo Pedicle.

A notable feature of the Bangweulu system is a series of parallel sandy ridges running south-west to north-east. These are particularly striking in satellite photographs and are easily seen along the north-western shore, the Lifunge Peninsula (2), Mbalala Island (3), Chilubi Island (6), and the Kapata Peninsula (10). They divide the lake into three sections parallel to its main axis. One divides off a section called Lake Chifunabuli (1), 50&nbsp;km long but only 5&nbsp;km wide. Its entrance through a gap in the sand spits (at the end of Lifunge Peninsula) is only 250&nbsp;m wide. Another sandy ridge, Mbabala Island, divides off a section called Lake Walilupe (4), 30&nbsp;km long by 13&nbsp;km wide. The main, middle section of the lake between Ifunge and Mbabala is known only as Bangweulu.

There are numerous bays, inlets, smaller lakes and lagoons around Lake Bangweulu, connected by open water, narrow channels or swamps. The largest is Lake Kampolombo (9), 30&nbsp;km by 5&nbsp;km, south of Lake Walilupe and connected to it by a 7&nbsp;km channel. The 32&nbsp;km long Kapata Peninsula lies between Lake Kampolombo and the swamps; at its tip on the eastern side is the 15&nbsp;km long Lake Kangwena (11).

It was found that infection with Schistosoma haematobium on the western shores of Lake Bangweulu, Zambia, is higher than previously reported.

The Bangweulu Swamps

thumb|Satellite view of the lake and the swamps, May 2020

The Bangweulu Swamps, larger than the lake, extend from the north-west clockwise around to the south. The main part covers an area of roughly 120&nbsp;km by 75&nbsp;km and they are normally not less than 9,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.

Lagoons

There are numerous lagoons in the swamps, the more prominent ones are: Lake Chali (12) in the south-west, Lake Chaya (13) in the east at the mouth of the Lulingilla River in the east, Lake Wumba (14) in the north-east at the confluence of the Chambeshi and Luansenshi (20) Rivers, and the Pook Lagoon (15) in the East near Nsalushi Island (25). The conductivity of the Bangweulu system is unusually low and varies between 20 and 40&nbsp;μS/cm.