Lake Kivu

09 Nov 2024 14:04:39 pm

Tags : Lake Kivu

Topic: Lakes

Why in the news?

A boat carrying scores of passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo, killing at least 50 people.
The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just metres away from the port of Kituku. It was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.

Source: The Indian Express

About Lake Kivu:

It 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.
It empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika.
It is one of three lakes in the world, along with Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, that undergo limnic eruptions (where overturn of deepwater stratified layers releases dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2).
- Its bottom also contains methane (CH4), meaning if a limnic eruption occurs, the lives of the two million people living nearby would be in danger.
It is approximately 42 km. long and 50 km. wide.
It covers a total surface area of some 2,700 km2, making it Africa\'s eighth largest lake.
The lake bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area.
The world\'s tenth-largest island in a lake, Idjwi, lies in Lake Kivu.