Lake Burera or Bulera is a lake of northwestern

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, at the border with

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

. With an area pf , it is the second largest lake entirely in

after Lake Ihema (). Considering all other lakes in the country (including lakes shared with other countries), it would be the 5th largest after

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, whic ...

between

and 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 ...

, Lake Rweru between Rwanda and

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

at of which only are in Rwanda, Lake Ihema and

Lake Cohoha Lake Cyohoha South or Cyohoha Sud as it is known in Rwanda or Lake Cohoha in Burundi is a small lake in East Africa. It straddles the border between Burundi and Rwanda. In Rwanda, it is known as Cyohoha South to differentiate it from the nearby m ...

also shared with

of which only are in Rwanda. The lake is located in a densely populated North of the country in

Burera District Burera is a district (''Akarere'') in Northern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Cyeru. Geography and tourism The district lies in the northern part of Rwanda, adjacent to the Ugandan border, and between the cities of Ruhengeri and Byumba. I ...

which got its name from this lake. The closet major city is the city of

Musanze Musanze is a district in the Northern Province of Rwanda. Its capital city is Ruhengeri. Geography and tourism Musanze is Rwanda's most mountainous district, containing the largest part of the Volcanoes National Park, and its head office at K ...

West of the lake. Lake Burera borders

's wetlands on the southern slopes of

Mount Muhavura Mount Muhabura, also known as Mount Muhavura, is an inactive volcano in the Virunga Mountains on the border between Rwanda and Uganda. At Muhabura is the third highest of the eight major mountains of the mountain range, which is a part of the A ...

at of altitude. It lies to the North East of its twin Lake Ruhondo in which it empties via a stream called Ntaruka. Burera is almost twice as large as Lake Ruhondo and despite only being 600 meters apart, the two lakes are separated by a dramatic drop in altitude of . Ntaruka is a long stream connecting the two lakes and drops of about 100 meters in . Due to this steep drop, a hydroelectric power plant has been constructed on this stream and produces 11.5 MW.

References

Lakes of Rwanda Ramsar sites in Rwanda {{Rwanda-geo-stub