Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes.^[6] With a surface area of approximately 59,947 km² (23,146 sq mi),^[7][8] Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake,^[9] and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after Lake Superior in North America.^[10] In terms of volume, Lake Victoria is the world's ninth-largest continental lake, containing about 2,424 km³ (1.965×10⁹ acre⋅ft) of water.^[8][11] Lake Victoria occupies a shallow depression in Africa. The lake has an average depth of 40 m (130 ft) and a maximum depth of 80–81 m (262–266 ft).^[8][11][12] Its catchment area covers 169,858 km² (65,583 sq mi).^[13] The lake has a shoreline of 7,142 km (4,438 mi) when digitized at the 1:25,000 level,^[14] with islands constituting 3.7% of this length.^[15]

The lake's area is divided among three countries: Tanzania occupies 49% (33,700 km² (13,000 sq mi)), Uganda 45% (31,000 km² (12,000 sq mi)), and Kenya 6% (4,100 km² (1,600 sq mi)).^[16]

The lake is home to many species of fish which live nowhere else, especially cichlids. Invasive fish, such as the Nile perch, have driven many endemic species to extinction.