For this month's featured article I wanted to start giving background on the lakes themselves. Tanganyika is my favorite of the lakes, so let's start there. I'm not an expert on the lake, and rather than write an original piece I am combining resources and excerpts for us.
Background
Lake Tanganyika, second largest of the lakes of eastern Africa, is the longest freshwater lake in the world (410 miles [660 km]) and the second deepest (4,710 feet [1,436 metres]) after Lake Baikal in Russia. Comparatively narrow, varying in width from 10 to 45 miles (16 to 72 km), it covers about 12,700 square miles (32,900 square km) and forms the boundary between Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and part of the boundary between Burundi and the DRC as well as part of the boundary between Tanzania and Zambia.
It occupies the southern end of the Western Rift Valley, and for most of its length the land rises steeply from its shores. Its waters tend to be brackish. Though fed by a number of rivers, the lake is not the centre of an extensive drainage area. The largest rivers discharging into the lake are the Malagarasi, the Ruzizi, and the Kalambo, which has one of the highest waterfalls in the world (704 feet [215 metres]; see Kalambo Falls). Its outlet is the Lukuga River, which flows into the Lualaba River. [1]
In addition to being the largest and deepest of the Rift Valley lakes, it is thought to be the second-oldest lake on the planet; part of the Congo River basin, it feeds into it via the Lukuga River
The Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a geographical and geological feature running north to south for around 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers), from northern Syria to central Mozambique in East Africa. Astronauts say it is the most significant physical detail on the planet that is visible from space. In Africa, the terrain ranges from salt flats more than 500 feet (152 meters) below sea level to towering, snow-capped mountains.
The Rift is known for its spectacular scenery and abundant, sometimes unique, wildlife. A series of some thirty lakes lies along its length; the three largest in Africa are known as the Great Lakes and include Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world, Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake by surface area in the world and Lake Malawi, the second deepest and second largest lake in the Rift Valley. Some of the oldest remains of ancestral humans have been found in in the African segment of the valley.[2]
Biodiversity
Lake Tanganyika and its Basin are endowed with exceptionally large and highly diverse heritage of flora and fauna. The lake is a global hotspot of biodiversity, and an extremely valuable aquatic ecosystem containing almost 17% of the global available surface freshwater supply and some of the largest freshwater fisheries on the African continent. Estimates suggest that Lake Tanganyika harbours at least 1500 species out of which approximately 600 are currently considered endemic to the lake. In addition to Lake Tanganyika’s elevated levels of aquatic biodiversity, the Basin is renowned for its terrestrial biodiversity and scenic beauty. The Basin contains several forest reserves and national parks including Rusizi Nature Reserve and Kigwena Forest Reserve in Burundi, Gombe Stream, Katavi and Mahale Mountains National Park in Tanzania, and Nsumbu National Park in Zambia. The lake and its Basin provide a diverse range of ecosystem services that sustain the livelihoods of millions of people.
Lake Tanganyika is internationally recognised as a global hotspot of biodiversity, representing some of the most diverse aquatic ecosystems in the world (Groombridge and Jenkins, 1998). The lake’s valuable aquatic ecosystem and the many natural resources found in its Basin provide essential sources of livelihood and income for over 10 million riparian population around the lake, and contribute to the growing economies of surrounding countries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Tanzania and Zambia.
Estimates suggest that Lake Tanganyika harbours at least 1500 species (Coulter, 1991), although species numbers vary according to taxonomic authority. Approximately 600 species are endemic to the lake, including 245 morphologically diverse and colourful cichlid fish species (Snoeks, 2000; Genner et al., 2004). Lake Tanganyika is unique in harbouring endemic species clusters of bagrids, cyprinids, mastacembelids, and mochokids (Coulter, 1991; Vreven, 2005; Day & Wilkinson, 2006). Moreover, a large diversity of endemic ostracods, gastropods, shrimp, crabs (e.g., Martens, 1994; West et al., 2003; Marijnissen et al., 2004; Fryer 2006), as well as many other taxa can be found in Lake Tanganyika. The lake is valuable not only for the presence of these unique species, but also as a microcosm in which to study the processes of evolution that have led to this diversity. [3]
Documentaries / Videos
Lake Tanganyika, 4-Part Series
Dive Videos
(I stumbled across these looking for more videos and despit horrendous soundtrack the videos seemed to be actually pretty great)
Lake Tanganyika Cichlids in the Wild: People and Places
Lake Tanganyika in the Wild: The Earth Forgives
Lake Tanganyika in the Wild: Tropheus Moorii "Murago Tanzania"
(While not specifically about Lake Tangyika alone, this is one of the best documentaries on the Rift Lakes available on YouTube.)