Lake Albert

Lake Albert lies in a long, low valley. The land there is slowly pulling apart.

Steep walls of land rise on both sides of the lake.

Lake Albert lies in the Albertine Rift, a branch of the East African Rift. The European Space Agency (ESA) explains that along this rift, part of Africa is splitting away from the rest of the continent. When land pulls apart like this, a block can drop down between two lines of cracks, making a long valley called a graben.

ILEC describes Lake Albert as a typical rift-valley lake between two escarpments. On its western side, the land rises steeply to nearly 2,000 meters above the water.

The International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) lists the lake's geologic origin as tectonic (a graben). ESA describes the Albertine Rift as a branch of the East African Rift where the Somali Plate is splitting away from the rest of the continent.

ILEC calls Lake Albert a typical Rift Valley lake lying between two parallel escarpments, the western one rising abruptly to nearly 2,000 m above the water. Its account adds an 'accident of geological history': uptilting of the Lake Victoria basin in the late Pleistocene sent the Victoria Nile along an older valley to a low point in the rift wall, over Murchison Falls and into the lake's northern tip.

Two main rivers flow into Lake Albert. One river flows out.

The river that flows in at the top passes a powerful waterfall first.

The Semliki River brings water into the south end of the lake from Lake Edward. Rapids on the Semliki keep the fish of the two lakes apart.

At the north end, the Victoria Nile arrives after roaring through Murchison Falls, where the Uganda Wildlife Authority says it squeezes through a gorge about 8 meters wide and plunges 45 meters. It enters the lake almost beside the Albert Nile, which flows out, so its water mostly helps keep the lake's level steady.

ILEC describes the Semliki River as the main inflow at the south end, coming from Lake Edward past the edge of the Ituri forest, with kilometers of rapids that act as a barrier to fish moving between the two lakes. Most streams from the escarpments are seasonal and add little.

The Victoria Nile (which the Uganda Wildlife Authority says is forced through an 8-meter-wide gorge at Murchison Falls before a 45 m plunge) enters the northern tip almost directly into the outflowing Albert Nile. Because its water is much less saline than the lake's, conductivity measurements showed that even in floods it does not affect the lake beyond about 10 km from the north end; it mainly helps maintain the lake level.

Many kinds of fish swim in Lake Albert.

Near the river mouth, people can spot hippos, crocodiles and a bird called the shoebill.

ILEC lists many fish in Lake Albert, including the Nile perch and tilapias, and marks several of them as important for fishing. The lake also gives people water.

In Murchison Falls National Park, along the Victoria Nile, the Uganda Wildlife Authority says hippos and Nile crocodiles are common along the riverbanks near the Albert Delta. The shoebill, a much-sought-after bird, is commonly spotted there too.

ILEC's fish list includes Alestes baremose, Lates niloticus (Nile perch), Hydrocynus, Clarias, Mormyrus, Polypterus, tilapias, Citharinus and Distichodus niloticus, and marks several as economically important; its uses for the lake are water supply and fisheries. The lake is monomictic: it stratifies in March and mixes in August.

Murchison Falls National Park, at the northern end of the Albertine Rift, was gazetted as a game reserve in 1926 and as a national park in 1952. The Uganda Wildlife Authority records over 556 bird species there and says the shoebill is commonly spotted along the Albert Delta, where hippos and Nile crocodiles are common on the riverbanks.

Lake Albert is home to hippos and crocodiles.

Near water, always stay close to your grown-up and wear a life jacket.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority says hippos and Nile crocodiles are common along the riverbanks near the Albert Delta.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says life jackets lower the risk of drowning while boating, and that children should wear them for all activities in and around natural water. Grown-ups should watch children closely near water.

Near the Albert Delta, the Uganda Wildlife Authority describes hippos and Nile crocodiles as common along the riverbanks, and says elephants, giraffes and buffaloes come to the banks of the river below Murchison Falls.

The CDC advises that life jackets reduce the risk of drowning while boating for people of all ages and swimming abilities, that children should use them for all activities in and around natural water, and that air-filled or foam toys are not safety devices. Adults should supervise children closely, even when lifeguards are present.