Rift Valley Lakes

Rift Valley Lakes

The lakes in eastern Africa that formed because of the rifting that occurs there are some of the oldest, largest, and deepest lakes in the world. Many of these lakes hold fresh water and are ecoregions which are large areas of water that have distinct groups of biological species. The reasoning behind the lakes being ecoregions is the mixture between specific landforms and types of soil. Wikipidia uses Omernik's definition and defines an ecoregion as "areas within which there is a spacial coincedence in characteristics of geographical phenomena associated with differences in quality, health, and itegrity of ecosystems." Other lakes in eastern Africa are composed of alkaline or soda and support extremely specialized organisms. Through Kenya, there is a series of small lakes that are covered by volcanic ash and sediments. These lakes include Lake Baringo and Lake Magadi (see photos below).

Lake Baringo

Lake Magadi. You can clearly see the ash and sediment covering the water.

Specific lakes that have formed in the rift valley of eastern Africa are Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Victoria. The elongated shapes of both Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika show that they are forming due to the rifting system. Through Kenya, there is a series of lakes that are all covered in volcanic ash and debris

Lake Malawi:

Lake Malawi lies between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. There are more fish species in Lake Malawi than any other lake in the world, and it is the third largest lake in Africa. It formed on the rift valley where the African Tectonic Plate is splitting in two. The lake is about 40,000 years old. One specific fish that Lake Malawi is famous for is its chichlids. These fish are famous for their bright colors and are often shown in aquariums.

Lake Malawi is circled above on the map

Lake Tanganyika:

Photo of Lake Tanganyika from space

Lake Tanganyika is located in central africa within the East African Rift and is confined by the valley walls (also created by the rift system). It's the largest and deepest lake in Africa. With a depth of about 600 feet, Lake Tanganyika is an extremely important place for the reasearch and study of biological evolution. The lake holds more that 200 species of chichlids (species of fish described above).

Location of Lake Tanganyika shown on a map