Lake Upemba is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Bukama Bukama is a town in Haut-Lomami Province of south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 42,718. Climate Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as a tropical savanna cli ...

Haut-Lomami District Haut-Lomami District was a district of the pre-2015 Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The district dates back to the days of the Belgian Congo. At its greatest extent it roughly corresponded to the northern part of the cu ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. It, and nearby

Lake Kisale Lake Kisale is a lake in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in Bukama Territory, Haut-Lomami District. At about in area, it is the second largest of the lakes in the Upemba Depression (Kamolondo Depression), an extensive marshy area partl ...

, is surrounded by the

Upemba Depression The Upemba Depression (or Kamalondo Depression) is a large marshy bowl area ( depression) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo comprising some fifty lakes, including 22 of relatively large size including Lake Upemba (530 km) and Lake Kisale ...

Upemba National Park Upemba National Park is a large national park in Haut-Lomami, Lualaba Province & Haut-Katanga Province (formerly in Katanga Province) of the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire. Geography At the time of the creation of Upem ...

. The nearest town is Nyonga, and the nearest hospital is located four hours away in Kikondja. The

floating island A floating island is a mass of floating aquatic plants, mud, and peat ranging in thickness from several centimeters to a few meters. Floating islands are a common natural phenomenon that are found in many parts of the world. They exist less co ...

s in the lake, such Mitala Island, are also the site of an informal refugee settlement that resulted from the fighting between

Mai-Mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...

rebels and government troops since 2006.DRC/Katanga: The Stranded people of Lake Upemba

References

{{reflist Upemba Haut-Lomami Upemba National Park