Lake Malawi
The fourth largest freshwater lake by volume, home to more fish species than any other lake.
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Salix Oculus · CC BY-SA 4.0
By volume, this African lake ranks as the fourth largest freshwater lake globally and the third largest on the continent.[1] The lake is classified as meromictic because its water strata remain unmixed.[2]
Geography and history
The lake has typically been estimated to be 1–2 million years old, but more recent evidence points to a basin that started forming about 8.6 million years ago.[3] On 16 August 1914, the British gunboat Gwendolen disabled the German gunboat Hermann von Wissmann with a single cannon shot.[4] Its length spans 560 to 580 km, and at its broadest point, the width is roughly 75 km.[5] Covering about 29,600 km² in surface area, the lake's maximum depth reaches 706 m.[6]
The countries bordering the lake are Mozambique to the west, Malawi to the east, and Tanzania to the south.[7] The Ruhuhu River is the primary inflow, while the Shire River serves as the lake's only outflow.[7] Over 80% of the water lost from the lake is due to evaporation.[7]
What the cited sources add
The same report states that females of Oreochromis squamipinnis from Lakes Malombe and Malawi differ in their fecundities.[8] That guide also notes that the lake does not have tides or currents.[9] A 1992 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization states that chambo in Lake Malawi primarily consume filamentous diatoms.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Lake Malawi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Protected Areas Programme", United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, UNESCO, October 1995; Turner, Seehausen, Knight, Allender, and Robinson (2001). "How many species of cichlid fishes are there in African lakes?" Molecular Ecology 10: 793–806.; WWF (10 June 2011). "Mozambique's Lake Niassa declared reserve and Ramsar site" Retrieved 17 July 2014.; "Protected Areas Programme", United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, UNESCO, October 1995 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lake Malawi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pilskaln, C. H. (2004). "Seasonal and Interannual Particle Export in an African Rift Valley Lake: A 5-Yr Record from Lake Malawi, Southern East Africa". Limnolo (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lake Malawi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilson, "Marine Incursion: The Freshwater Herring of Lake Tanganyika Are the Product of a Marine Invasion into West Africa", PLOS ONE, Apr 2008; Givnish, T.J.; and K.J. Sytsma, editors (1997). Molecular Evolution and Adaptive Radiation, p. 598. .; Delvaux, D. (1995). Age of Lake Malawi (Nyasa) and water level fluctuations. Mus. roy. Afr. centr., Tervuren (Belg.), Dept. Geol. Min., Rapp. ann. 1993 & 1994: ; Sturmbauer; Baric; Salzburger; Rüber; and Verheyen (2001). Lake Level Fluctuations Synchronize Genetic Divergences of Cichlid Fishes in en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lake Malawi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Paice, "Tip and Run: The Untold Tragedy of the Great War in Africa", Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2007, p. not cited; "The Guendolen v Hermann Von Wissmann", Clash of Steel (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lake Malawi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Malawi Cichlids", AC Tropical Fish; "Lake Nyasa", Columbia University Press (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lake Malawi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Malawi Cichlids", AC Tropical Fish; Konings, Ad (1990). Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other Fishes of Lake Malawi. .; Konings, Ad (1990). Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other Fishes of Lake Malawi. .; Konings, Ad (1990). Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other Fishes of Lake Malawi. . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lake Malawi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lake Nyasa", Columbia University Press; Park, L.E.; and A.S. Cohen (2011). Paleoecological response of ostracods to early Late Pleistocene lake-level changes in Lake Malawi, East Africa. Palaeogeograp; Bhave, A., Vincent, K. and Mkwambisi, D. (2019) Projecting future water availability in Lake Malawi and the Shire River basin, Future Climate for Africa Brief, (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Turner, G.F.; and N.C. Mwanyama (July 1992).Distribution and Biology of Chambo (Oreochromis spp.) in Lakes Malawi and Malombe. Food and Agriculture Organization. facts only, no text reused. fao.org
- Elieson, M: Haps Vs. Mbuna. Retrieved 11 April 2017.. facts only, no text reused. cichlid-forum.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Lake Malawi (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lake Malawi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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