Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika
Ikiyaga ca Tanganyika (Kirundi)
Lake Tanganyika from space, June 1985
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika map
Coordinates6°06′S 29°30′E / 6.1°S 29.5°E / -6.1; 29.5
Lake typeAncient lake, Rift Valley Lake
Primary inflowsRuzizi River
Malagarasi River
Kalambo River
Primary outflowsLukuga River
Catchment area231,000 km2 (89,000 sq mi)
Basin countriesBurundi, DR Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia
Max. length673 km (418 mi)
Max. width72 km (45 mi)
Surface area32,900 km2 (12,700 sq mi)
Average depth570 m (1,870 ft)
Max. depth1,470 m (4,820 ft)
Water volume18,750 km3 (4,500 cu mi)
Residence time5500 years
Shore length11,828 km (1,136 mi)
Surface elevation773 m (2,536 ft)
SettlementsKigoma, Tanzania
Rukwa, Tanzania
Kalemie, the DRC
Bujumbura, Burundi
Mpulungu, Zambia
References
Official nameTanganyika
Designated2 February 2007
Reference no.1671
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Tanganyika (/ˌtæŋɡənˈjkə, -ɡæn-/ TANG-gən-YEE-kə, -gan-; Kirundi: Ikiyaga ca Tanganyika) is an African Great Lake. It is the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. The lake is shared among four countries—Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC), Burundi, and Zambia—with Tanzania (46%) and the DRC (40%) possessing the majority of the lake. It drains via the Lukuga River into the Congo River system, which ultimately discharges at Banana, Democratic Republic of the Congo into the Atlantic Ocean.