— 26 — 
CHAPTER II. 
The tributaries of the Nile. 
9. Lake Victoria Nyanza. — Lake Victoria, the true source of the 
Nile, lies on the Equator, and fed by abundant rains and numerous 
streams, discharges its surplus waters over the Ripon Falls, and gives 
birth to the Victoria Nile. Its most important feeder, the Kagera, whose 
southernmost tributary rises in the Kangosi hills 2000 metres above 
sea level in -south latitude 4°, has a length of some 600 kilometres. The 
direct line across the lake from the mouth of the Kagera to the Ripon 
Falls is 220 kilometres, so that in academical language the length of the 
Nile at the Ripon Falls is already 820 kilometres. Lake Victoria lies 
1129 metres above sea level, and has an area of 60,000 square kilo- 
metres ; though until the parallels of longitudes are definitely settled, the 
lake may be credited with an area of between 60,000 and 65,000 square 
kilometres, constituting it the largest fresh water lake in the old world. 
Its waters are beautifully clear and perfectly sweet. The depth of the 
lake is not great and it is covered with many islands. The greatest 
depth found by Commander Whitehouse in the northern half of the lake 
has been 73 metres, while the bays are shallow. The northern, southern 
and eastern shores of the lake, as described by Sir William Garstin, 
are generally clear, while the western shore, especially at the mouth 
of the Kagera, is flat, marshy and covered with papyrus. The country 
surrounding the lake is undulating or hilly and rises to a height of 
700 metres above the lake at the south-east corner. The rocks are 
generally granites, chrystalline schists and quartzites, etc. The hills 
are covered with red clay and marl on the higher lands, while the valleys 
consist of a rich black loam. 
The catchment basin of the lake is 244,000 square kilometres of 
which 60,000 are water. Most of the important streams feeding the 
lake traverse extensive marshes and swamps and must lose a great 
part of their waters by evaporation. According to Capfc Lyons (Appendix 
III of Sir William Garstin 7 s report), the climate of the lake basin is 
