The great lakes of East Africa comprise of a series of large water bodies in and around the Great Rift Valley formed by volcanic actions of the East Africa Rift. They include Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi.

Lake Victoria, wrapped by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, covers an area of 26,830 square miles and is 250 miles long at its greatest width thus making it the world’s second largest freshwater lake after Lake Superior in North America. Lake Victoria has an average depth of 120 feet, with its deepest point reaching 250 feet.

Lake Victoria is fed by numerous rivers of East Africa, the largest being the Kagera. River Kagera originates in Burundi and is believed to be the remote source of River Nile. Although it is the youngest of the three rift lakes, Lake Victoria drains into the longest river in the world – the Great River Nile. The Nile flows for about 6670 km nourishing the dry regions of the northern Africa before finally draining into the Mediterranean Sea.

Lake Victoria abounds in the Nile perch, a fish species that was introduced to the lake by the lake’s residents in the 1950s. Nile Perch is a dangerous preditor fish that can grow upto 6 feet long and has wiped out half of the 400 Chilid species of fish that inhabit Lake Victoria.

The alkaline waters of Lake Victoria are less clear compared to those of Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika. Transparency has been measured between less than 4 and 10 feet in inshore areas. The water has a PH that ranges from 7.2 to 8.6 and its carbonate hardness is between 2 and 8 dH. The middle of Lake Victoria receives more rainfall (usually about 250 cm a year) in the middle of the lake than anywhere in the lakes neighbourhoods.

Although it does not lie in the Great Rift Valley, Lake Tanganyika is still considered one of the Great Lakes of Africa. This is because the lake lies between the main and the western branches of the Great Rift Valley. Lake Tanganyika covers an area of about 12,700 square miles and is the second largest lake in Africa. It is also interesting to note that the lake reaches a depth of 4,710 feet making it the second deepest lake in the world after Siberia's Lake Baikal.

With a length of about 420 miles, Lake Tanganyika is the longest lake in the world. The lake measures  45 miles at its widest point. It is wrapped by Tanzania (on the east), Burundi (on the north), Congo DRC (on the west) and Zambia (on the south).

The water in Lake Tanganyika is more alkaline and harder than the water in lakes Victoria and Malawi. This is because the lake has just one outlet – Lukaga River which flows into the Congo River. This sees most of the salts that flow into being left behind as the water evaporates. As a result the lake's pH levels range from 8.6 to 9.5, with a total hardness of 11-17 dH and carbonate hardness being between 16 and 19 dH.

Lake Tanganyika is known for its over 200 species of fish that abound in its waters. Many of these species are small and can be housed in 10 and 20-gallon aquariums. On the other hand, crocodiles and hippopotamuses are often found on the shores of the lake.

Hundreds of miles away from Lake Tanganyika is Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa by the residents. Placed between Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique, with an estimated area of 8,683 square miles, Lake Malawi is the ninth largest lake in the world. The lake forms the eastern border between Mozambique and Malawi. The lake is unusual in that it does not have tides or currents.

Lake Malawi, whose water chemistry is similar to that of Lake Victoria, is 360 miles long and 25 miles wide and it contains a greater variety of indigenous species of Cichlid fishes than any other lake in the world. Over 500 species have been identified to date by World Wildlife Fund researchers. These Chichlids of Lake Malawi are brightly coloured and patterned and for this reason they have been very popular with aquarists all over the world.

It's interesting to note that Tanzania boaders each of the Great Lakes of East Africa. Therefore, the next time  you go on a Tanzania tour safari you may easily explore the three lakes.