Carpe Diem #806 Lake Victoria

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Our journey over The Nile is almost over and we are nearing the source of The Nile. Today we sail up to Lake Victoria the greatest lake in Africa. I love to tell you a little bit more about Lake Victoria.

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named after Queen Victoria by the explorer John Hanning Speke, the first Briton to document it. Speke accomplished this in 1858, while on an expedition with Richard Francis Burton to locate the source of the Nile River.
Lake Victoria receives its water primarily from direct precipitation and thousands of small streams. The largest stream flowing into this lake is the Kagera River, the mouth of which lies on the lake's western shore. Lake Victoria is drained solely by the Nile River near Jinja, Uganda, on the lake's northern shore.

Credits: Lake Victoria

A little geology history about lake Victoria:

During its geological history, Lake Victoria went through changes ranging from its present shallow depression, through to what may have been a series of much smaller lakes. Geological cores taken from its bottom show Lake Victoria has dried up completely at least three times since it formed. These drying cycles are probably related to past ice ages, which were times when precipitation declined globally. Lake Victoria last dried out 17,300 years ago, and it refilled beginning about 14,700 years ago. Geologically, Lake Victoria is relatively young – about 400,000 years old – and it formed when westward-flowing rivers were dammed by an up thrown crustal block.

This geological history probably contributed to the dramatic cichlid speciation that characterizes its ecology, as well as that of other African Great Lakes, although some researchers dispute this, arguing while Lake Victoria was at its lowest between 18,000 and 14,000 years ago, and it dried out at least once during that time, there is no evidence of remnant ponds or marshes persisting within the desiccated basin. If such features existed, then they would have been small, shallow, turbid, and/or saline, and therefore markedly different from the lake to which today's species are adapted.
The shallowness of Lake Victoria, its limited river inflow, and its large surface area compared to its volume make it vulnerable to the effects of climate changes.

Credits: Water Hyacinth

Lake Victoria is a beautiful lake, but it is sometimes overgrown with Water Hyacinth which damages its shores. It's possible that this "pest" of Water Hyacinth is the result of climate change.

Credits: Lake Victoria overgrown with Water Hyacinth

clear cool night
the pale light of the full moon
ripples on Lake Victoria

© Chèvrefeuille

her beauty
takes the life of the Lake
Water Hyacinth

© Chèvrefeuille

And now it's up to you my dear haijin ....

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until August 30th at noon (CET). I will publish our next episode (a reprise one), Waterfall, later on. For now ... be inspired and share your all new haiku or tanka with us all.