Chapter VII. 



ranges down to tlieir liiuli central plateaux and thence to 

 the coast le\el. In Africa, on the contrary, Ruwenzori 

 rises from the so-called " Albertine Depression," a low district 

 formino- a region about GOO to 700 feet below the average 

 level of Uganda, and containino- the l)asins of Lake Albert 

 and of Lake Albert Edward with its northern prolongation, 

 Lake Dweru or Rui samba. 



The \\'liole of this depression forms simply a portion of 

 the western " rift." The " rifts " consist of two gigantic 

 trenches, from 20 to 50 miles in widtli, running nearly 

 parallel to one another, Avitli an interval of 6° longitude, 

 and cutting through the continent from Lake Nyassa north- 

 ward. The easternmost of tlie two follows tlie 3Gth meridian 

 as far as Lake I\udol})h, be voi id which it inclines towards 

 the Red Sea. The western rift runs between the 29th 

 and 30th meridian and comes to an end near Gondokoro in 

 the U]jper Nile Valle v. Either rift includes a nearly continuous 

 chain of lakes and numerous mountains and volcanic cones and 

 craters. Either rift is divided by a transversal watershed 

 into two separate hvdi-ographic svstems, one to the north, 

 the other to the soutli. In the case of tlie eastern rift this 

 ridov is near Lake Naiwnslia, about where the Uganda 

 Lailwav traverses the depression. Li the western rift tlie 

 watershed is formed bv a veritable range of volcanic mountains 

 of whicli some are still active at the present time. Tins range 

 (hvides the chain of lakes into two distinct svstems. The 

 southern svstem inchides Lakes Ki\u and Taim'anika : the 

 northern system, Lakes Albert Edward and Albert. 



At the southern extrenntv of the IluA\t'nzoii chain the 

 lift bilurcates : one bi'anch runs to tiie east of the ciiain 

 and tel•minat(^s at tlie foot of the heights which cnclost^ the 



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