Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and Lago Niassa in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
, is an
African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the
East African Rift
The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...
system, located between
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It is the
fifth largest fresh water 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,
[ including at least 700 species of ]cichlid
Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...
s.[Turner, Seehausen, Knight, Allender, and Robinson (2001). "How many species of cichlid fishes are there in African lakes?" ''Molecular Ecology'' 10: 793–806.] The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011,[WWF (10 June 2011)]
"Mozambique’s Lake Niassa declared reserve and Ramsar site"
Retrieved 17 July 2014. while in Malawi a portion of the lake is included in Lake Malawi National Park
Lake Malawi National Park is a national park at the southern end of Lake Malawi in Malawi, Southeast Africa. It is the only national park in Malawi that was created with the purpose of protecting fish and aquatic habitats. Despite this being its m ...
.
Lake Malawi is a meromictic lake
A meromictic lake is a lake which has layers of water that do not intermix. In ordinary, holomictic lakes, at least once each year, there is a physical mixing of the surface and the deep waters.
The term ''meromictic'' was coined by the Austr ...
, meaning that its water layers do not mix. The permanent stratification of Lake Malawi's water and the oxic-anoxic
The term anoxia means a total depletion in the level of oxygen, an extreme form of hypoxia or "low oxygen". The terms anoxia and hypoxia are used in various contexts:
* Anoxic waters, sea water, fresh water or groundwater that are depleted of diss ...
boundary (relating to oxygen in the water) are maintained by moderately small chemical and thermal gradient
A temperature gradient is a physical quantity that describes in which direction and at what rate the temperature changes the most rapidly around a particular location. The temperature gradient is a dimensional quantity expressed in units of degre ...
s.
Geography
Lake Malawi is between [ and long,][ and about wide at its widest point. The lake has a total surface area of about .][ The lake is at its deepest point, located in a major depression in the north-central part.][ Another smaller depression in the far north reaches a depth of .][ The southern half of the lake is shallower; less than in the south-central part and less than in the far south.][ The lake has shorelines on western ]Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
, eastern Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, and southern Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
. The largest river flowing into it is the Ruhuhu River
The Ruhuhu River is a river in Ruvuma Region, Tanzania.
Geography
The source of the Ruhuhu is on the eastern slope of the Kipengere Range (Livingstone Mountains) in Tanzania, where it first flows southeast and then turns west to Lake Nyasa (L ...
, and there is an outlet at its southern end, the Shire River
The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...
, a tributary that flows into the very large Zambezi River
The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...
in Mozambique. Evaporation accounts for more than 80% of the water loss from the lake, considerably more than the outflowing Shire River.[Park, L.E.; and A.S. Cohen (2011). Paleoecological response of ostracods to early Late Pleistocene lake-level changes in Lake Malawi, East Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 303: 71–80. ] The outflows from Lake Malawi into the Shire River are vital for the economy as the water resources support hydropower, irrigation and downstream biodiversity. Concerns have been raised over the future climate change impacts of Lake Malawi due to the recent decline in lake levels and the overall drying trend. The climate in the lake region is already experiencing changes, with the temperatures predicted to increase throughout the country.
The lake is about southeast of Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...
, another of the great lakes of the East African Rift.
The Lake Malawi National Park
Lake Malawi National Park is a national park at the southern end of Lake Malawi in Malawi, Southeast Africa. It is the only national park in Malawi that was created with the purpose of protecting fish and aquatic habitats. Despite this being its m ...
is located at the southern end of the lake.
File:Lake Malawi00.jpg, Lake Malawi (1967)
File:Mwaya Beach, Malawi.jpg, Mwaya Beach
File:Monoxylon beach Lake Malawi 1557.jpg, Beach at Cape Maclear near Monkey Bay
Geological history
Malawi is one of the major Rift Valley lakes
The Rift Valley lakes are a series of lakes in the East African Rift valley that runs through eastern Africa from Ethiopia in the north to Malawi in the south, and includes the African Great Lakes in the south. These include some of the world's ...
and an ancient lake
An ancient lake is a lake that has consistently carried water for more than one million years. Many have existed for more than 2.6 million years, the full Quaternary period. Ancient lakes continue to persist due to plate tectonics in an active ri ...
. The lake lies in a valley formed by the opening of the East African Rift
The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...
, where the African tectonic plate is being split into two pieces. This is called a divergent plate tectonics boundary. Malawi has typically been estimated to be 1–2 million years old (mya),[Givnish, T.J.; and K.J. Sytsma, editors (1997). Molecular Evolution and Adaptive Radiation, p. 598. .] but more recent evidence points to a considerably older lake with a basin that started to form about 8.6 mya and deep-water condition first appeared 4.5 mya.[Delvaux, D. (1995). Age of Lake Malawi (Nyasa) and water level fluctuations. Mus. roy. Afr. centr., Tervuren (Belg.), Dept. Geol. Min., Rapp. ann. 1993 & 1994: 99–108.][Sturmbauer; Baric; Salzburger; Rüber; and Verheyen (2001). Lake Level Fluctuations Synchronize Genetic Divergences of Cichlid Fishes in African Lakes. Mol Biol Evol 18(2): 144–154. ]
The water levels have varied dramatically over time, ranging from almost below current level[Cohen; Stone; Beuning; Park; Reinthal; Dettman; Scholz; Johnson; King; Talbot; Brown; and Ivory (2007). Ecological consequences of early Late Pleistocene megadroughts in tropical Africas. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(42): 16422-16427. ] to above.[ During periods the lake dried out almost completely, leaving only one or two relatively small, highly ]alkaline
In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...
and saline lakes in what currently are Malawi's deepest parts.[ A water chemistry resembling the current conditions only appeared about 60,000 years ago.][ Major low-water periods are estimated to have occurred about 1.6 to 1.0–0.57 million years ago (where it might have dried out completely), 420,000 to 250,000–110,000 years ago,][ about 25,000 years ago and 18,000–10,700 years ago.][ During the peak of the low-water period between 1390 and 1860 AD, it may have been below current water levels.][
]
Water characteristics
The lake's water is alkaline ( pH 7.7–8.6) and warm with a typical surface temperature between , while deep sections typically are about .[Stauffer, J.R.; and H. Madsen (2012). Schistosomiasis in Lake Malawi and the Potential Use of Indigenous Fish for Biological Control. Pp. 119–140 in: Rokni, M.B., editor. Schistosomiasis. .] The thermocline
A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a thin but distinct layer in a large body of fluid (e.g. water, as in an ocean or lake; or air, e.g. an atmosphere) in which temperature changes more drastically with ...
is located at a depth of .[ The ]oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
limit is at a depth of approximately , effectively restricting fish and other aerobic organisms
Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen.
Aerobic may also refer to
* Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity
* Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise
* Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cell ...
to the upper part.[Lowe-McConnell, R.H. (2003). Recent research in the African Great Lakes: Fisheries, biodiversity and cichlid evolution. Freshwater Forum 20(1): 4–64.] The water is very clear for a lake and the visibility can be up to , but slightly less than half this figure is more common and it is below in muddy bays.[ Konings, Ad (1990). ''Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other Fishes of Lake Malawi.'' .] However, during the rainy season months of January to March, the waters are more muddy due to muddy river inflows.
European discovery and colonisation
The Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
trader Candido José da Costa Cardoso was the first Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an to visit the lake in 1846. David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
reached the lake in 1859, and named it Lake Nyasa.[ He also referred to it by a pair of nicknames: Lake of Stars and Lake of Storms. The Lake of Stars nickname came after Livingstone observed lights from the lanterns of the fishermen in Malawi on their boats, that resemble, from a distance, stars in the sky.] Later, after experiencing the unpredictable and extremely violent gales that sweep through the area, he also referred to it as the Lake of Storms.
On 16 August 1914, Lake Malawi was the scene of a brief naval battle when the British gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
, commanded by a Captain Rhoades, heard that World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
had broken out, and he received orders from the British Empire's high command to "sink, burn, or destroy" the German Empire's only gunboat on the lake, the ''Hermann von Wissmann Hermann von Wissmann may refer to:
* Hermann Wissmann (1853–1905), German explorer and administrator in Africa
** ''Hermann von Wissmann'' (steamship), a German steamer
** Hermann von Wissmann (ship, 1940), became in 1950 the Belgian Kamina
* He ...
'', commanded by a Captain Berndt. Rhoades's crew found the ''Hermann von Wissmann'' in a bay near Sphinxhaven, in German East Africa
German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
n territorial waters. ''Gwendolen'' disabled the German boat with a single cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
shot from a range of about . This very brief gunboat conflict was hailed by ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' in England as the British Empire's first naval victory of World War I.
Borders
Tanzania–Malawi dispute
The partition of the lake's surface area between Malawi and Tanzania is under dispute. Tanzania claims that the international border runs through the middle of the lake. On the other hand, Malawi claims the whole of the surface of this lake that is not in Mozambique, including the waters that are next to the shoreline of Tanzania. Both sides cite the Heligoland Treaty of 1890 between Great Britain and Germany concerning the border. The wrangle in this dispute occurred when the British colonial government, just after they had captured Tanganyika from Germany, placed all of the waters of the lake under a single jurisdiction, that of the territory of Nyasaland
Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...
, without a separate administration for the Tanganyika
Tanganyika may refer to:
Places
* Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state
* Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania
* Tanzania Main ...
n portion of the surface. Later in colonial times, two jurisdictions were established.
The dispute came to a head in 1967 when Tanzania officially protested to Malawi; however nothing was settled. Occasional flare-ups of conflict occurred during the 1990s and in the 21st century. In 2012, Malawi's oil exploration initiative brought the issue to the fore, with Tanzania demanding that exploration cease until the dispute was settled.
Malawi–Mozambique border
In 1954, an agreement was signed between the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and the Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
making the middle of the lake their boundary with the exception of Chizumulu Island Chizumulu Island is the smaller of two islands in Lake Malawi, the larger being the nearby Likoma island, which together make up the Likoma District. Both these islands lie just a few kilometres from Mozambique and are entirely surrounded by Moza ...
and Likoma Island, which were kept by the British and are now part of Malawi.
Transport
began service on the lake in 1901 as the SS ''Chauncy Maples'': a floating clinic and church for the Universities' Mission to Central Africa. She later served as a ferry and is currently being renovated into a mobile clinic at Monkey Bay
Main north-south street of the town.
Monkey Bay or Lusumbwe is a town in Mangochi which is in the Mangochi District in the Southern Region of Malawi. The town is on the shore of Lake Malawi and is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi. The popul ...
. The renovation was expected to be complete during the first half of 2014, but was halted in 2017. entered service in 1935. The ferry entered service in 1951. In recent years she has often been out of service, but when operational she runs between Monkey Bay at the southern end of the lake to Karonga
Karonga is a township in the Karonga District in Northern Region of Malawi. Located on the western shore of Lake Nyasa, it was established as a slaving centre sometime before 1877. As of 2018 estimates, Karonga has a population of 61,609.
Hi ...
on the northern end, and occasionally to the Iringa Region
Iringa Region (''Mkoa wa Iringa'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Guinea Bissau. Iringa Region is bor ...
of Tanzania. The ferry entered service in 1980.[ By 1982 she was carrying 100,000 passengers each year.,][ but as of 2014 she was out of service. She normally serves the southern part of the lake but if ''Ilala'' was out of service she operated the route to Karonga. The Tanzanian ferry was built in 1988.] Her operator was the Tanzania Railway Corporation
The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks.
When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tanz ...
Marine Division until 1997, when it became the Marine Services Company Limited. ''Songea'' plies weekly between Liuli and Nkhata Bay
Nkhata Bay or just Nkhata is the capital of the Nkhata Bay District in Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyasa), east of Mzuzu, and is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi. The population of Nkhata Bay was 14,274 accord ...
via Itungi and Mbamba Bay
Mbamba Bay is a town in western Tanzania, lying on the eastern shore of Lake Malawi/Lake Nyasa.
Port
Mbamba Bay has an indentation in the otherwise straight profile of the lake and may be a potential port.
Transport
In October 2007, it was ...
.[ The worst Lake disaster was a ship accident by the MV Vipya in 1946 which resulted in 145 deaths.
]
Wildlife
Wildlife found in and around Lake Malawi or Nyasa includes Nile crocodile
The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern ...
s, hippopotamus
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
, monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
s, and a significant population of African fish eagle
The African fish eagle (''Haliaeetus vocifer'') or the African sea eagle, is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Na ...
s that feed off fish from the lake.
Fish
Fishing
Lake Malawi has for millennia provided a major food source to the residents of its shores since its waters are rich in fish. Among the most popular are the four species of chambo, consisting of any one of four species in the subgenus ''Nyasalapia'' (''Oreochromis karongae
''Oreochromis karongae'' is a critically endangered species of cichlid that is endemic to Lake Malawi, Lake Malombe, and upper and middle Shire River in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. This species is important to local commercial fisheries ...
'', '' O. lidole'', '' O. saka'' and '' O. squamipinnis''), as well as the closely related '' O. shiranus''.[Turner, G.F.; and N.C. Mwanyama (July 1992]
Distribution and Biology of Chambo (Oreochromis spp.) in Lakes Malawi and Malombe.
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, FI:DP/MLW/86/013, Field Document 21. Retrieved 13 April 2017. Other species that support important fisheries include the Lake Malawi sardine
The Lake Malawi sardine, lake sardine, or usipa (''Engraulicypris sardella''), is an African species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is endemic to Lake Malawi and its outlet, the (upper) Shire River; it is found in Malawi, Moz ...
(''Engraulicypris sardella'') and the large kampango
The kampango or kampoyo (''Bagrus meridionalis'') is a critically endangered species of large and predatory bagrid catfish that is endemic to Lake Malawi, Lake Malombe and the upper Shire River in Africa. It prefers areas near rocks in water sha ...
catfish (''Bagrus meridionalis'').[ Most fishing provides food for the increasing human population near the lake, but some are exported from Malawi. The wild population of fish is increasingly threatened by ]overfishing
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...
and water pollution
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...
. A drop in the lake's water level represents another threat, and is believed to be driven by water extraction by the increasing human population, climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
and deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
.[ The chambo and kampango have been particularly overfished (the kampango declined by about 90% from 2006 to 2016, ''O. karongae'' and ''O. squamipinnis'' by about 94%, and ''O. lidole'' might already be extinct) and they are now seriously ]threatened
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...
. The IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
recognises 117 species of Malawi cichlids as threatened; some of these have tiny ranges and may be restricted to rocky coastlines only a few hundred metres long.[IUCN Red Lists]
Geographic Patterns
. Eastern Africa. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
Cichlids
Lake Malawi is noted for being the site of evolutionary radiation
An evolutionary radiation is an increase in taxonomic diversity that is caused by elevated rates of speciation, that may or may not be associated with an increase in morphological disparity. Radiations may affect one clade or many, and be rapid ...
s among several groups of animals, most notably cichlid
Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...
fish. There are at least 700 cichlid species in Lake Malawi,[ with some estimating that the actual figure is as high as 1,000 species.][ The actual number is labelled with some uncertainty because of the many ]undescribed species
In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...
and the extreme variation among some species, making the task of delimiting them very complex.[ Except for four species ('']Astatotilapia calliptera
''Astatotilapia calliptera'', the eastern happy or eastern river bream, is a species of haplochromine cichlid from southeastern Africa.
Description
The male ''Astatotilapia calliptera'' has blue lips and a dark line through its eye. It can show a ...
'', ''Coptodon rendalli
The redbreast tilapia (''Coptodon rendalli'') is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is found widely in the southern half of Africa. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is known as the redbreast kurper ...
'', ''Oreochromis shiranus'' and ''Serranochromis
''Serranochromis'' is a genus of relatively large, robust cichlids from freshwater habitats in mainland Southern Africa, ranging as far north as DR Congo and Tanzania, with the highest species richness in the upper Zambezi, Okavango and Congo ...
robustus''), all cichlids in the lake are endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the Malawi system, which also includes nearby smaller Lake Malombe
Lake Malombe is a lake in southern part of Malawi, on the Shire River, in the Southern Region. It is located at around , about south of much larger Lake Malawi. It has an area of about . In recent years the number of fishermen on the lake rose s ...
and the upper Shire River.[Oliver, M.K. (12 April 2015)]
The Tilapias of Lake Malawi.
MalawiCichlids. Retrieved 13 April 2017. Many of these have become popular among aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
owners due to their bright colors. Recreating a Lake Malawi biotope to host cichlids became quite popular in the aquarium hobby. Most Malawi cichlids are found in relatively shallow coastal waters,[ but '' Diplotaxodon'' has been recorded down to depths of and several (especially ''Diplotaxodon'', '']Rhamphochromis
''Rhamphochromis'' is a genus of East African haplochromine cichlids endemic to the Lake Malawi basin, also including Lake Malombe, Lake Chilingali, Chia Lagoon and upper Shire River.Genner; Nichols; Carvalho; Robinson; Shaw; Smith; and Turner ...
'' and '' Copadichromis quadrimaculatus'') are known from pelagic
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...
waters.[
The cichlids of the lake are divided into two groups and the vast majority of the species are ]haplochromines
__NOTOC__
The haplochromine cichlids are a tribe of cichlids in subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae called Haplochromini. This group includes the type genus (''Haplochromis'') plus a number of closely related genera such as '' Aulonocara'', '' Astat ...
. The sister species
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
to the Malawi haplochromines is ''Astatotilapia'' sp. Ruaha (a currently undescribed species from Great Ruaha River
The Great Ruaha River is a river in south-central Tanzania that flows through the Usangu wetlands and the Ruaha National Park east into the Rufiji River. It traverses and marks the borders between Iringa Region, Dodoma Region and Morogoro Region. ...
), and these two separated between 2.13 and 6.76 million years ago (mya).[Genner; Ngatunga; Mzighani; Smith; and Turner (2015). Geographical ancestry of Lake Malawi’s cichlid fish diversity. Biol. Lett. 11: 2015023. ] The earliest divergence within the Malawi haplochromines occurred between 1.20 and 4.06 mya,[ but most radiations in this group are far younger; in extreme cases species may have diverged only a few hundred years ago.][ The Malawi haplochromines are ]mouthbrooder
Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...
s, but otherwise vary extensively in general behaviour and ecology.[ Within the Malawi haplochromines there are two main groups, the haps and the mbuna. The haps (they were formerly included in '']Haplochromis
''Haplochromis'' is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cichlidae. It has been used as the default " wastebin taxon" for Pseudocrenilabrinae cichlids of the East African Rift, and as such became the "largest" fish "genus". Many of these cichl ...
'') can be further subdivided into three subgroups: The relatively large, often more than long, and aggressive piscivore
A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...
s that roam various habitats in pursuit of prey, the open-water (although often not far from sand or rocks) utaka
image:Copadichromis_azureus.jpg, ''Copadichromis azureus'', one of the utaka of Lake Malawi in Africa
Utaka is the term used for open water-dwelling cichlids found in Lake Malawi, the most diverse source of cichlids in the world of aquaria. Among ...
that feed in schools
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
on zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
and typically are of medium size, and finally a subgroup of "aberrant" species that essentially are defined by them not fitting clearly into the other subgroups.[Elieson, M]
Haps Vs. Mbuna.
Retrieved 11 April 2017.[Aquaticcommunity (2004–08]
Haplochromis.
Retrieved 13 April 2017. Adult male haps generally display bright colors, while juveniles of both sexes and adult females typically show a silvery or grey coloration with sometimes irregular black bars or other markings.[ The second main haplochromine group are the mbuna, a name used both locally and popularly, which means "rockfish" in ]Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
. They are found at rocky outcrops, territorially aggressive (although commonly found in high densities) and often specialised aufwuchs feeders.[ The mbuna species tend to be relatively small, mostly less than long, and often both sexes are brightly colored with males having egg-shaped yellow spots on their ]anal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
(a feature particularly prevalent in the mbuna, but not exclusive to this group).[
The second group, the ]tilapia
Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...
, comprises only six species in two genera in Lake Malawi: The redbreast tilapia (''Coptodon rendalli''), a widespread African species, is the only substrate-spawning cichlid in the lake.[ This large cichlid mainly feeds on macrophytes.][ The remaining are five mouthbrooding species of '']Oreochromis
''Oreochromis'' is a large genus of oreochromine cichlids, fishes endemic to Africa and the Middle East. A few species from this genus have been introduced far outside their native range and are important in aquaculture. Many others have very ...
''; four chambo in the subgenus ''Nyasalapia'' (''O. karongae'', ''O. lidole'', ''O. saka'' and ''O. squamipinnis'') that are endemic to the Lake Malawi system, as well as the closely related ''O. shiranus'', which also is found in Lake Chilwa
Lake Chilwa is the second-largest lake in Malawi after Lake Malawi. It is in eastern Zomba District, near the border with Mozambique. Approximately 60 km long and 40 km wide, the lake is surrounded by extensive wetlands. There is an isla ...
.[ The Malawi ''Oreochromis'' mainly feed on ]phytoplankton
Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
Ph ...
, reach lengths up to depending on the exact species, and are mostly black or silvery-gray with relatively indistinct dark bars.[ Male chambo have unique genital tassels when breeding, which aid in egg fertilisation in a manner comparable to the egg-spots on the anal fin of haplochromines.][
]
Non-cichlids
The vast majority of the fish species in the lake are cichlids. Among the non-cichlid native fish are several species of cyprinids
Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest vert ...
(in genera ''Barbus
''Barbus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. The type species of ''Barbus'' is the common barbel, first described as ''Cyprinus barbus'' and now named ''Barbus barbus''. ''Barbus'' is the namesake genus of the subfamil ...
'', ''Labeo
''Labeo'' is a genus of carps in the family Cyprinidae. They are found in freshwater habitats in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia.
It contains the typical labeos in the subfamily Labeoninae, which may not be a valid group, however ...
'' and ''Opsaridium
''Opsaridium'' is a genus of cyprinid fish found in Africa. Currently, 12 species are in this genus.
Species
* '' Opsaridium boweni'' ( Fowler, 1930)
* '' Opsaridium engrauloides'' ( Nichols, 1923)
* '' Opsaridium leleupi'' ( Matthes, 1965)
...
'', and the Lake Malawi sardine ''Engraulicypris sardella''), airbreathing catfish
Airbreathing catfish comprise the family Clariidae of the order Siluriformes. Sixteen genera and about 116 species of clariid fishes are described; all are freshwater species. Other groups of catfish also breathe air, such as the Callichthyidae ...
(''Bathyclarias
''Bathyclarias'' is a genus of airbreathing catfish endemic to Lake Malawi in Africa.Anseaume, L.; and G.G. Teugels (1999). On the rehabilitation of the clariid catfish genus Bathyclarias endemic to the East African Rift Lake Malawi. Fish Biology ...
'' and ''Clarias
''Clarias'' is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes. The name is derived from the Greek ''chlaros'', which means lively, in reference to the ability of the fish to live for a long time out ...
'', and the kampango ''Bagrus meridionalis''), mochokid catfish (''Chiloglanis
''Chiloglanis'' is a genus of upside-down catfishes native to Africa. These species have modified lips and barbels that form a suckermouth. They also have a naked (scaleless) body. Sexual dimorphism has been reported in ''Chiloglanis''. The adul ...
'' and Malawi squeaker ''Synodontis njassae''), ''Mastacembelus
''Mastacembelus'' is a genus of many species of spiny eel fish from the family Mastacembelidae. They are native to Africa (c. 45 species) and Asia (c. 15 species). Most are found in rivers and associated systems (even in rapids), but there are ...
'' spiny eel, mormyrids (''Marcusenius
''Marcusenius'' is a genus of elephantfishes native to Africa. Its members are highly diverse in size, with the smallest species reaching less than and the largest more than .
The genus is named after Johann Marcusen.
Species
There are cur ...
'', '' Mormyrops'' and ''Petrocephalus
''Petrocephalus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family (biology), family Mormyridae. All the fish species of this genus are endemism, endemic to Africa.
Species
There are currently 46 recognized species in this genus:
* ''Petrocephalus a ...
''), the African tetra
African tetras (family Alestidae, formerly spelled Alestiidae) are a group of characiform fish exclusively found in Africa. This family contains about 18 genera and 119 species. Among the best known members are the Congo tetra, and African tiger ...
'' Brycinus imberi'', the poeciliid
The Poeciliidae are a family of freshwater fishes of the order Cyprinodontiformes, the tooth-carps, and include well-known live-bearing aquarium fish, such as the guppy, molly, platy, and swordtail. The original distribution of the family was ...
'' Aplocheilichthys johnstoni'', the spotted killifish (''Nothobranchius orthonotus''), and the mottled eel (''Anguilla nebulosa'').[
At a genus level, most of these are widespread in Africa, but ''Bathyclarias'' is entirely restricted to the lake.
]
Invertebrates
Molluscs
Lake Malawi is home to 28 species of freshwater snail
Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...
s (including 16 endemics) and 9 bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
s (2 endemics, '' Aspatharia subreniformis'' and the unionid
The Unionidae are a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionida, the bivalve molluscs sometimes known as river mussels, or simply as unionids.
The range of distribution for this family is world-wide. It is at its most diverse ...
'' Nyassunio nyassaensis''). The endemic freshwater snails are all members of the genera ''Bellamya
''Bellamya'' was a supertanker, built in 1976 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for the French branch of Shell Oil. She was the second Batillus class supertanker. ''Bellamya'', together with her sister ships ''Batillus, Pierre Guil ...
'', ''Bulinus
''Bulinus'' is a genus of small tropical freshwater snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Bulinidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Bulinus O. F. Müller, 1781. Accessed through: World ...
'', ''Gabbiella
''Gabbiella'' is an East African genus of small freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic prosobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Bithyniidae
Bithyniidae is a family of small freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod ...
'', ''Lanistes
''Lanistes'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails.Bouchet, P.; Neubauer, Thomas A. (2015). Lanistes Montfort, 1810. In: MolluscaBase (2015) ...
'' and ''Melanoides
''Melanoides'' is a genus of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Thiarinae of the family Thiaridae.Bouchet, P. (2014). Melanoides Olivier, 1804. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species ...
''.
Lake Malawi is home to a total of four snail species in the genus ''Bulinus'', which is a known intermediate host
In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include a ...
of bilharzia
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody ...
. A survey in Monkey Bay in 1964 found two endemic species of snails of the genus ('' B. nyassanus'' and '' B. succinoides'') in the lake, and two non-endemic species ('' B. globosus'' and '' B. forskalli'') in lagoons separated from it. The latter species are known intermediate hosts of bilharzia, and larvae of the parasite were detected in water containing these, but in experiments C. Wright of the British Museum of Natural History
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
was unable to infect the two species endemic to the lake with the parasites. The field workers, who spent many hours on and in the lake, did not find either ''B. globosus'' or ''B. forskalli'' in the lake itself. More recently, the disease has become a problem in the lake itself as the endemic ''B. nyassanus'' has become an intermediate host. This change, first noticed in the mid-1980s, is possibly related to a decline in snail-eating cichlids (for example, '' Trematocranus placodon'') due to overfishing and/or a new strain
Strain may refer to:
Science and technology
* Strain (biology), variants of plants, viruses or bacteria; or an inbred animal used for experimental purposes
* Strain (chemistry), a chemical stress of a molecule
* Strain (injury), an injury to a mu ...
of the bilharzia parasite.[
]
Crustaceans
Unlike Lake Tanganyika with its many endemic freshwater crabs and shrimp, there are few such species in Lake Malawi. The Malawi blue crab, '' Potamonautes lirrangensis'' ( syn. ''P. orbitospinus''), is the only crab in the lake and it is not endemic.[Cumberlidge, N., and Meyer, K. S. (2011). ]
A revision of the freshwater crabs of Lake Kivu, East Africa.
' Journal Articles. Paper 30.[Dobson, M. (2004). ]
Freshwater Crabs of Africa.
'' Freshwater Forum 21: 3–26. The atyid shrimp '' Caridina malawensis'' is endemic to the lake, but it is poorly known and has historically been confused with '' C. nilotica'', which is not found in the lake. Pelagic zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
ic species include two cladocera
The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, are a superorder of small crustaceans that feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter (excluding some predatory forms).
Over 1000 species have been recognised so far, with many more ...
ns (''Diaphanosoma
''Diaphanosoma'' is a genus of ''Sididae''.
The genus was described in 1850 by Fischer.
It has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species:
* ''Diaphanosoma amurensis'' Korovchinsky & Sheveleva, 2009
* ''Diaphanosoma australiensis'' Korovchinsky, 1981 ...
excisum'' and '' Bosmina longirostris''), three copepod
Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...
s ('' Tropodiaptomus cunningtoni'', '' Thermocyclops neglectus'' and ''Mesocyclops
''Mesocyclops'' is a genus of copepod crustaceans in the family Cyclopidae. Because the various species of ''Mesocyclops'' are known to prey on mosquito larvae, it is used as a nontoxic and inexpensive form of biological mosquito control.
Biol ...
aequatorialis''),[Darwall; Allison; Turner; and Irvine (2010). Lake of flies, or lake of fish? A trophic model of Lake Malawi. Ecological Modelling 221: 713–727. ] and several ostracod
Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a class of the Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 70,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant) have been identified, grouped into several orders. They are small crustaceans, typi ...
s (including both described and undescribed species
In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...
).
Lake flies
Lake Malawi is famous for the huge swarms of tiny, harmless lake flies, ''Chaoborus
''Chaoborus'' is a genus of midges in the family Chaoboridae. The larvae are known as glassworms because they are transparent. They can be found commonly in lakes all over the world and can be up to . The adults are sometimes called phantom midg ...
edulis''.[Morris, B. (2004). Insects and Human Life, pp. 73–76. ] These swarms, typically appearing far out over water, can be mistaken for plumes of smoke and were also noticed by David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
when he visited the lake.[van Huis, A.; H. van Gurp; and M. Dicke (2012). The Insect Cookbook: Food for a Sustainable Planet, p. 31. ][Malawi Tourism:]
Interesting seasonal highlights of Malawi.
Retrieved 8 April 2017. The aquatic larvae feed on zooplankton, spending the day at the bottom and the night in the upper water levels.[ When they ]pupate
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
they float to the surface and transform into adult flies.[ The adults are very short-lived and the swarms, which can be several hundred metres tall and often have a spiraling shape, are part of their mating behaviour.][Andrew, D. (30 June 2015)]
What Are These Strange Looking "Clouds"?
IFLScience. Retrieved 8 April 2017. They lay their eggs at the water's surface and the adults die.[ The larvae are an important food source for fish,][ and the adult flies are important both to birds and local people, who collect them to make '']kungu
Kungu is a town and capital of one of the four territories of Sud-Ubangi Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Ubangi River forms the western boundary of Kungu Territory, separating it from the Republic of the Congo.
The Ngiri River, ...
'' cakes/burgers, a local delicacy with a very high protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
content.[
]
2015 mine leak
In January 2015, a sediment control tank collapsed at the Paladin Energy
Paladin Energy Ltd is a Western Australian based uranium production company.
It currently has one operating mine in Africa; the Langer Heinrich mine (LHM) in Namibia. Paladin was listed on the Australian, OTC and Namibian Stock Exchanges, as ...
-owned uranium mine in Northern Malawi after a high intensity rain storm hit the area. It was revealed that approximately 50 litres of non radioactive material leaked into a local creek. Despite reports in local media of radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirab ...
the government conducted independent scientific tests on the local river system and found that there was no effect on the environment.
Swimming
The 25 km solo swim across Lake Malawi between Cape Ngomba and Senga Bay has been accomplished on 5 occasions by 16 swimmers
1992: Lewis Pugh
Lewis William Gordon Pugh, OIG, (born 5 December 1969) is a British-South African endurance swimmer and ocean advocate. Dubbed the "Sir Edmund Hillary of swimming", he is the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of th ...
9hrs 52 minutes (UK/SA) and Otto Thanning (SA) 10hrs 5 minutes
2010: Abigail Brown (UK) 9hrs 45 minutes
2013: Milko van Gool (Netherlands) 8hrs 46 minutes and Kaitlin Harthoorn (US) 9hrs 17 minutes
2016: (current record) Jean Craven (SA), Robert Dunford (Kenya), Michiel Le Roux (SA), Samantha Whelpton (SA), Greig Bannatyne (SA), Haydn Von Maltitz (SA), Douglas Livingstone-Blevins (SA) 7hrs 53 mins
2019: Chris Stapley (Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
) and Jay Azran (SA) 8hrs 40 minutes, Andrew Stevens (Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
) 10hrs 50 minutes, and Ruth Azran (SA) 11hrs 8 minutes.
In 2019, Martin Hobbs (SA), became the first person to swim the full length of Lake Malawi (54 days), as well as setting the world record for longest solo swim in a lake
See also
*1989 Malawi earthquake
The 1989 Malawi earthquake occurred on 10 March in central Malawi, with a moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 6.3 and a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe''). It was preceded by a number of fore ...
* 2009 Karonga earthquakes
*Southeast Africa
Southeast Africa or Southeastern Africa is an African region that is intermediate between East Africa and Southern Africa. It comprises the countries Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania ...
References
Further reading
*
Recent study on Lake Malawi water levels reveals drought 100,000 years ago
*
*''Growing up in a Border District and Resolving the Tanzania-Malawi Lake Dispute: Compromise and concessions'', by Godfrey Mwakikagile
Godfrey Mwakikagile (born 4 October 1949 in Kigoma) is a prominent Tanzanian scholar and author specialising in African studies. He was also a news reporter for ''The Standard'' (later renamed the '' Daily News'') — the oldest and largest En ...
, African Renaissance Press, 2022
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malawi
Ancient lakes
African Great Lakes
Lakes of the Great Rift Valley
Lakes of Malawi
Lakes of Tanzania
Malawi–Mozambique border
Malawi–Tanzania border crossings
International lakes of Africa
Ramsar sites in Mozambique
Lakes of Mozambique
Territorial disputes of Malawi
Territorial disputes of Tanzania