Largest Lakes in Africa (by Surface Area)
Overview
Akin to the Great Lakes of North America, Africa features its own version - the African Great Lakes. They include Lake Victoria, the largest lake by area in Africa, and Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and depth and other major lakes - Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Kivu, Lake Malawi and Lake Turkana.
Collectively, they contain 31,000 km³ of water, which is more than either Lake Baikal (23,615 km³) or the Great Lakes of North America (22,671 km³) combined. This total constitutes about 25% of the planet's unfrozen surface fresh water.
Which is the largest lake in Africa by surface area?
The largest lake by surface area in Africa is Lake Victoria with an area of 68,870 km2. At second and third, are Tanganyika which spans 32,600 km2 and Malawi at 29,500 km2.The surface areas of the major lakes in Africa range from 2,300 km2 to 68,870 km2, with the average area at around 14,665.4 km2.
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Deepest Lakes. The deepest lake in Africa is Tanganyika with a maximum depth of 1,470 meters.The depths of the major lakes in Africa range from 4 meters to 1,470 meters, with lakes reaching as deep as 279.5 meters on average.
Lakes with the largest volumes. The largest lake in Africa by volume is Tanganyika with a volume of 18,900 km3.The water volumes of the major lakes in Africa range from 38 km3 to 18,900 km3, with lakes holding up to 3,888.9 km3 of water on average.
Here are Africa's largest lakes by surface area.
Lake Victoria is the 3rd largest lake by surface area in the world at 68,870 km2.
Lake Victoria is a lake that spans 68,870 km2 in surface area, reaching as deep as 84 meters. It also holds a total water volume of up to 2,750 km3.
It spans 322 km on its length. Countries along its shoreline in Africa: Uganda, Kenya.
Compare Lake Victoria with Malawi from Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania.
Tanganyika is the 2nd deepest lake in the world at 1,470 meters.
Tanganyika is a lake that holds up to 18,900 km3 of water, reaching a maximum depth of 1,470 meters. The lake also covers 32,600 km2 in surface area.
It spans 676 km on its length. Countries along its shoreline in Africa: Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Lake Tanganyika is also the second-oldest lake in the world - an ancient lake that is formed as early as 9 - 12 million years ago.
Compare Tanganyika with Mweru from Zambia, Democratic Republic Of The Congo.
Malawi is the 2nd deepest lake in Africa at 706 meters.
Spanning a surface area of 29,500 km2, Malawi contains up to 8,400 km3 of water and reaches a maximum depth of 706 meters.
It spans 579 km on its length. Countries along its shoreline in Africa: Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania.
Lake Malawi is another ancient lake, having formed as early as 1-2 million years ago
Compare Malawi with Bangweulu from Zambia.
Compare Malawi with Mweru from Zambia, Democratic Republic Of The Congo.
Turkana is a lake that holds up to 204 km3 of water, reaching a maximum depth of 109 meters. The lake also covers 6,405 km2 in surface area.
It spans 248 km on its length. Countries along its shoreline in Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya.
It is also the world's largest permanent desert lake and the largest alkaline lake in the world.
Compare Turkana with Lake Victoria from Uganda, Kenya.
Compare Turkana with Tanganyika from Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Democratic Republic Of The Congo.
Reaching as deep as 58 meters, Albert holds up to 280 km3 of water and covers a surface area of 5,299 km2.
It spans 161 km on its length. Countries along its shoreline in Africa: Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Compare Albert with Kivu from Rwanda, Democratic Republic Of The Congo.
Tana.
Tana is a lake that spans 3,200 km2 in surface area.
It spans 84 km on its length. Countries along its shoreline in Africa: Ethiopia.
Compare Tana with Mweru from Zambia, Democratic Republic Of The Congo.
Bangweulu covers a surface area of 3,000 km2.
It spans 75 km on its length. Countries along its shoreline in Africa: Zambia.
Compare Bangweulu with Turkana from Ethiopia, Kenya.
Compare Bangweulu with Tanganyika from Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Democratic Republic Of The Congo.
Datasets on Lakes
World — Deepest lakes | Largest lakes by water volume | Largest lakes by surface area
Largest Lakes by Region — Europe | North America | South America | Asia | Africa
Deepest Lakes by Region — Europe | North America | South America | Asia | Africa
Largest Lakes by Countries — Canada | USA | China | Russia | UK | Italy | Switzerland | Scandinavia | Argentina | Australia