30 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
III 
There are certain phenomena connected with the lake 
which are worth consideration. The water of the main 
lake is deep blue, sweet, and good to drink, but in the 
bays it is dark and muddy : it varies greatly in depth, 
being only a few feet in the shallow bays and 280 feet 
in the main lake. The depth of the water also varies 
according to the wetness of the seasons, but independ¬ 
ently of these changes it is asserted that the surface of 
the lake has been slowly sinking since 1878, as deter¬ 
mined by markings on the cliff limiting the south shore. 
Many bold headlands round the coast were formerly 
islands, and many islands are separated from the main¬ 
land by narrow and often shallow channels. In the 
morning there is usually a land breeze from the south¬ 
east, and towards evening from the lake to the land. 
This action of the wind causes the level of the lake at 
Port Florence to be twelve inches higher in the after¬ 
noon than in the morning (AVhitchouse). 
The movements of the curious papyrus islands are 
associated with these breezes. Many of the bays and 
creeks are filled with the beautiful papyrus rush, and 
the Victoria Nyanza, like other large bodies of water, is 
occasionally subject to violent storms which lead to the 
formation of huge waves. These disturbances lead to 
the detachment of large masses of papyrus rush from the 
banks, and the morning land-breeze drives them into the 
lake, and the evening breeze brings them back to the 
shore. Papyrus islands are usually seen in a voyage 
on the lake ; they form pretty objects floating about 
in an irresponsible manner. It is common to see 
a cormorant resting on such a floating island, and 
occasionally a crocodile. A papyrus island the size of 
Trafalgar Square is sometimes occupied by a flock of 
egrets, and has density enough, in virtue of the long 
submerged roots of the rushes, to support a hippo¬ 
potamus. Captain Cray informed me that on one 
occasion, as his steamer entered Kavirondo Gulf, he 
found the water so crowded with these floating islands 
