Lake Albert

Albert, Lake 

a lake in East Africa, on the border between the Congo (capital Kinshasa; since 1971, Republic of Zaire) and Uganda. It is located at an altitude of 617 m, covers an area of 5,600 sq km, and its depth reaches 58 m. It is in the tectonic basins within the central African graben (a depressed segment of the earth’s crust bounded on at least two sides by faults). The shores are slightly jagged and most of them are steep; the bottom is flat. The Semliki River (which drains Lake Edward) and the Victoria-Nile (which drains Lake Victoria) flow into the Albert-Nile. The lake receives 4.6 cubic kilometers of water a year from precipitation and 24.9 cu km from the rivers of the basin; the evaporation is 7.5 cu km and the drainage is 22 cu km. The temperature of the water at the surface reaches 30°C. The lake is rich in fish (more than 40 species, including Nile perch and tiger fish) and is navigable. The major ports are Butiaba (Uganda) and Kasenyi (Congo). It was discovered in 1864 by the British explorer S. W. Baker, and named after Queen Victoria’s spouse.