Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is the second biggest lake in the world. It is second to Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the second largest in terms of depth as well as volume among freshwater lakes in the world. The Lake is located in between the naturally beautiful area of the Great Rift Valley of Africa.

Lake Tanganyika joins the River Congo which flows on to the Atlantic Ocean. The Lake is shared by four countries, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Burundi and more. All four countries have some parts of Tanganyika, which extends upto a truly colossal area of thirty two thousand nine hundred sq k m. There are towering mountains on all sides of the lake.

Lake Tanganyika is a valuable source of income for the countries it is situated in. It is one of the best tourist attractions in the spot, and a whole lot of income is derived from tourist interest. The surrounding areas of the lake have many economic activities such as agriculture, livestock raising and mining.

Fishery is another important industry in the lake. The huge variety of fish found in the lake make it a fisherman’s paradise. There are close to three hundred and fifty species of fish found in the lake, with more and more new species being discovered day by day.

If you want to get to Lake Tanganyika, you can use the numerous transportation facilities on offer.  There are ferries that are operated between Bujumbura and Kigoma. The average width of the lake is fifty kilo meters, which makes it a top class destination for water sports. There are a huge number of water sports available, such as swimming, snorkeling as well as water diving.  There are many rare aquatic species found as well as fossils of various rare species of fish. The lake is also a favorite with marine researchers.