Lake Victoria is the largest freshwater Lake in Africa (also largest tropical Lake) and the second largest in the world after Lake Superior in the United States. Its surface area is approximately 68,635km2. Its greatest length is about 400km and its breadth is about 320 km. The shoreline is very irregular and totals some 3,300km in length. It contains about 2,760 cubic kilometres of water with an altitude of 1135m above mean sea level. Much of the Lake is relatively shallow, reaching a maximum depth of about 80m, and an average depth of about 40m; the deepest zone (60-90m) lies toward the shore.
Because the Lake is shallow, its volume is substantially less than that of other Eastern African Lakes with much smaller surface area. The volume of Lake Victoria’s water is only 15 percent of the volume of Lake Tanganyika, even though the latter has less than half the surface area. There is little annual variation in water temperatures, the mean surface being about 24◦C and that of deeper water at 23◦C.
The Lake straddles the Equator and touches the…show more content… The Lake basin’s main natural resources include: water resources, fisheries resources, forestry, minerals, human resources, wildlife and agriculture. Lake Victoria basin has great opportunities for sustainable socioeconomic development. Prospects for future growth and the wellbeing of its increasing population, now standing at about 30 million, are good. It is, therefore, important to make plans for sustainable development in the Lake basin, which must include socio-economic and environmental considerations. As an important pre-requisite for sustainability, the carrying capacity of the natural environment must be respected. The richness of the natural resources and a healthy environment within the basin should prevail as the fundamental basis for socio-economic development. The tools to make this possible are, however, of socio-economic