Lake Albert

:For the lake of the same name in South Australia, see Lake Albert, South Australia.

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Lake Albert – also Albert Nyanza and formerly Lake Mobutu Sese Seko – is one of the Great Lakes of Africa. It is Africa's seventh largest lake.

Related Topics:
Mobutu Sese Seko - Great Lakes - Lake

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Lake Albert is located in the centre of the continent, on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). Lake Albert is the northernmost of the chain of lakes in the Great Rift Valley; it is about 160 km (100 mi) long and 30 km (19 mi) wide, with a maximum depth of 51 m (168 ft), and a surface elevation of 619 m (2,030 ft) above sea level.

Related Topics:
Uganda - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Zaire - Great Rift Valley

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Lake Albert is part of the complicated system of the upper Nile. Its main sources are the Victoria Nile, ultimately coming from Lake Victoria to the southeast, and the Semliki River, which issues from Lake Edward to the southwest. Its outlet, at the northernmost tip of the lake, is the Albert Nile (which becomes known as the Mountain Nile when it enters Sudan).

Related Topics:
Nile - Victoria Nile - Lake Victoria - Semliki River - Lake Edward - Albert Nile - Mountain Nile - Sudan

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At the southern end of the lake, where the Semliki comes in, there are swamps. Farther south loom the mighty Ruwenzori Range, while a range of hills called the Blue Mountains tower over the northwestern shore. The few settlements along the shore include Butiaba and Pakwach.

Related Topics:
Swamp - Ruwenzori Range - Blue Mountains - Butiaba - Pakwach

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In 1864, the explorer Samuel Baker became the first European to discover the lake; he named it after the recently deceased Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria.

Related Topics:
1864 - Explorer - Samuel Baker - Prince Albert - Queen Victoria

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