Lake Malawi

For other uses, see Lake Malawi (disambiguation).

Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa)
Satellite image of lake with clouds in forground.
View from orbit. North is in upper right corner
Located in souther portion of East Africa's Great Lakes on borders of Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Located in souther portion of East Africa's Great Lakes on borders of Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa)
Located in souther portion of East Africa's Great Lakes on borders of Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Located in souther portion of East Africa's Great Lakes on borders of Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa)
Coordinates12°00′S 34°30′E / 12.000°S 34.500°E / -12.000; 34.500
Lake typeAncient lake, Rift lake
Primary inflowsRuhuhu River[1]
Primary outflowsShire River[1]
Basin countriesMalawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania
Max. length560 km (350 mi)[1] to 580[2]
Max. width75 km (47 mi)[1]
Surface area29,600 km2 (11,400 sq mi)[1]
Average depth292 m (958 ft)[3]
Max. depth706 m (2,316 ft)[3]
Water volume8,640 km3 (2,070 cu mi)[3]
Surface elevation468 metres (1,535 ft) above sea level[4]
IslandsLikoma and Chizumulu islets, Mumbo Island
References[1][3]
Official nameLake Niassa and its Coastal Zone
Designated26 April 2011
Reference no.1964[5]

Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, (Swahili: Ziwa Nyasa) is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.

It is the fourth largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, the ninth largest lake in the world by area and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake in the world,[6] including at least 700 species of cichlids.[7] The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011,[8] while in Malawi a portion of the lake is included in Lake Malawi National Park.[6]

Lake Malawi is a meromictic lake, meaning that its water layers do not mix. The permanent stratification of Lake Malawi's water and the oxic-anoxic boundary are maintained by moderately small chemical and thermal gradients.[9]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Malawi Cichlids". AC Tropical Fish. Aquaticcommunity.com. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ceonline was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d "Lake Malawi". World Lakes Database. International Lake Environment Committee Foundation. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
  4. ^ Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 222. ISBN 0-89577-087-3.
  5. ^ "Lake Niassa and its Coastal Zone". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Protected Areas Programme". United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, UNESCO. October 1995. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  7. ^ Turner, Seehausen, Knight, Allender, and Robinson (2001). "How many species of cichlid fishes are there in African lakes?" Molecular Ecology 10: 793–806.
  8. ^ WWF (10 June 2011). "Mozambique’s Lake Niassa declared reserve and Ramsar site" Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  9. ^ Pilskaln, C. H. (2004). "Seasonal and Interannual Particle Export in an African Rift Valley Lake: A 5-Yr Record from Lake Malawi, Southern East Africa". Limnology and Oceanography, 49(4), 964–977. {{doi:10.2307/3597647}}.