African Great Lakes

The African Great Lakes (Swahili: Maziwa Makuu; Kinyarwanda: Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in the world by area, Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and depth, and Lake Malawi, the world's eighth-largest fresh water lake by area.[1] Collectively, they contain 31,000 km3 (7,400 cu mi) of water, which is more than either Lake Baikal or the North American Great Lakes. This total constitutes about 25% of the planet's unfrozen surface fresh water. The large rift lakes of Africa are the ancient home of great biodiversity, and 10% of the world's fish species live in this region.

African Great Lakes
Satellite view of East Africa with the line of rift lakes on left, and Indian Ocean on right.
Satellite view of the African Great Lakes region and its coastline.
Coordinates8°00′00″S 35°00′00″E
Primary outflowsWhite Nile river, Congo river, Shire river
Basin countriesBurundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda
Water volume31,000 cubic kilometres (7,400 cu mi)
The African Great Lakes system, in blue.
Map of larger region including the East African Rift and the entire so-called Great Rift Valley

Riparian countries in the African Great Lakes region include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda.[2]

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