LAKE EDWARD; THE RIFT VALLEY LAKES OF UGANDA – UGANDA SAFARI NEWS

lake-edwardTraditionally referred to as Mwitanzigye (the killer of locusts), Lake Edward lies to the west of Uganda and is one of the major lakes always explored on Uganda Safaris and tours.
Positioned on the floor of the Albertine rift valley at the border of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo overlooking the Rwenzoris – the legendary Mountains of the moon rising to 5,109m above sea level with snowcapped peaks, Lake Edward shares very beautiful surroundings that adjoin the savannah stretches of Queen Elizabeth National Park to provide lasting Uganda Safari tour experience.
Lake Edward, like many other remarkable Africa safari features attracted the interest of the legendary European explorers including Henry Morton Stanley who is recorded to be the first to encounter it in the year 1888 during his Emin Pasha Relief Expedition.  He named the lake after the then Prince of Wales and the Son to the Queen of England Edward VII.  Lake Edward was renamed in 1973 to Lake Idi Amin during the regime of Idi Amin but regained its name following his downfall in 1979.
This expanse water mass covers 2,325km2 stretching to 77km in length along with a width of 40km and all these combine to rank it the Africa’s fifteenth (15th) largest lake. The Lake inlets include; River Ishasha, River Nyamugasani, River Rwindi, River Rutshuru and the Ntungwe River while its only outlet is Semuliki River that empties into Lake Albert another Rift Valley lake and the source of Albert arm of the world’s longest Nile River as viewed by travelers on Safaris in Uganda visiting Murchison Falls National Park.
 The western shore of the lake features a very steep 2000m escarpment while its southern and eastern shores give way to flat plains. The Ugandan side is sheltered by Queen Elizabeth National Park while the Democratic Republic of Congo side is sheltered by Virunga National Park. And as a result of this, Lake Edward shores features no human settlement except at Ishango where park rangers are trained.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHERE CAN YOU FIND & SEE GORILLAS IN UGANDA AFRICA?

Image
Uganda has only two national parks where one can see gorillas i.e Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and this is where g orilla trekking in Uganda is done to search and find  the rear endangered Mountain Gorillas . With about 1063 mountain gorillas that still exist on earth today, Uganda is home to more than half of all these endangered Great Apes making it one of the only 3 countries in the world where mountain gorillas live and Uganda gorilla tours are only done in there two national parks. Uganda has 20 gorilla families that have been habituated and already set for tourism purposes , 19 of which are tracked/found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and only 1 is found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one  of the places where you can see Gorillas in Uganda Africa. The appropriately named Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (also called “The Place of Darkness”) is the world’s premier ...
Read more

Mountain Gorilla Behavior,Diet,Threats and Predators

http://www.primeugandasafaris.com/gorilla-safaris/5-days-uganda-gorilla-safari.html Behavior  Although strong and powerful, gorillas are generally gentle,shy ,retiring rather than ferocious and treacherous . They live in groups of 2-40 individuals, averaging about 11. Groups are led by a dominant male, the Silverback, named for the silvery gray hairs that grow when the male matures. The Silverback serves as the chief leader and protector of the group, to whom all group members defer. He decides when and where to go, rest and sleep, arbitrates disputes among his family members and protects them from rival Silverbacks or human predators. Gorillas usually seeks no trouble but will valiantly defend its family group if threatened. An adult male called a silverback named for the silvery gray hairs on its back normally leads each group, serving as its chief protector and defender. Gorillas ...
Read more