CHAPTER IV 



THE LAKE 



Some facts as to the great Lake Victoria will probably 

 be found of interest before reading a general account of 

 the scenery and life thereon. 



The following data are taken from the eleventh edition 

 of the Encyclopcedia Britannica : 



Lake was discovered by J. H. Speke on August 3, 1858 ; the Ripen falls, 

 the only outlet, discovered by him on July 28, 1862. 



Area over 26,000 square miles, only exceeded by Lake Superior. 



Greatest length from north to south, 250 miles. 



Greatest breadth, 200 miles. 



Coast line of over 2,000 miles. 



Height above sea level, about 3,720 feet. 



Greatest known depth, 270 feet. 



Largest islands — 



Ukerewe, near Muanza on south coast, whose greatest diameters 



are 25 X 12 miles. 

 Buvuma, in the Napoleon Gulf on north coast, which has an area 

 of 160 sqviare miles. (The Isle of Wight has 147 square miles.) 



The Sesse Archipelago contains 62 islands, of which 42 were inhabited. 



Area drained by the lake, including lake itself, 92,210 square miles. 



Rainfall over whole area averages 50 inches yearly. 



Annual rise and fall from 1-3 feet : maximunri height in July. 



By far the greater part of the water that enters is lost by evaporation. 



The largest affluent is the River Kagera, which enters 

 on the west coast, and was crossed by Speke on January 

 16, 1862, on his way to the discovery of the Ripon falls. 



He says of it : " Once over I looked down on the noble 

 stream with considerable pride. About eighty yards 

 broad, it was sunk down a considerable depth below the 

 surface of the land, like a huge canal, and is so deep, it 

 could not be poled by the canoe-men ; while it runs at a 

 velocity of from three to four knots an hour." 



This fine river, reckoned as 430 miles long, derives its 

 waters ultimately from the south-eastern slopes of the 



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