Lake Tanganyika
is the chain of lakes on the bottom
of the Western Great Rift Valley and
is outstanding for its extraordinary
north-south extension (670 km) and
depth (1,470 m).
It is the second largest of African
lakes, the second deepest (next to
Lake Baikal) and the longest lake
of the world. Its very ancient origin,
only rivaled by such old lakes as
Baikal, and a long period of isolation
resulted in the evolution of a great
number of indigenous organisms, including
brilliantly colored cichlid fishes,
well-known gastropods with the appearance
of marine snails, and so on. Of the
214 species of native fishes in the
lake, 176 are endemic; the number
of endemic genera amounts to 30 in
cichlids and 8 in non- cichlid fishes.
The surrounding areas are mostly
mountainous with poorly developed
coastal plains except on part of the
east side. Especially on the western
coast, steep side-walls of the Great
Rift Valley reaching 2,000 m in relative
height form the shoreline.
The sole effluent river, the Lukuga,
starts from the middle part of western
coast and flows westward to join the
Zaire River draining into the Atlantic.
Agriculture, livestock raising and
the processing of these products as
well as the mining (tin, copper, coal,
etc.) are the main industries in the
drainage basin of Lake Tanganyika.
Fishery products, the "Tanganyika
sardine" (Stolothrissa Tanganikae,
Herring Family) in particular, are
also important for local economy.
Well-developed regular ship lines
connect Kigoma (Tanzania), Kalemie
(Zaire) and other coastal towns as
essential part of the inland traffic
system of east Africa. |
