Lake VictoriaThe world's largest tropical lake and second largest freshwater lake by area
Africa's largest lake is broad but relatively shallow.
- Surface area
- 68,800 km²
- Water volume
- 2,760 km³
- Max depth
- 81 m
See its true size
One shared area scaleBoth outlines share one area scale. The bars compare water volume.
Reference data: Encyclopædia Britannica: jezioro Bajkał (2024).
Simplified outlines: Natural Earth (public domain), reprojected to one shared scale.
among the 18 lakes in this section
It ranks second by freshwater surface area, but its 40 m mean depth limits its volume. Many smaller and deeper lakes hold more water.
The map intuition
The world's second largest lake, so it must hold a colossal amount of water.
About the lake
Lake Victoria covers 68,800 km². It is the world's second largest freshwater lake by area and the largest lake in Africa. It sits in a shallow depression between the two arms of the East African Rift, at 1,134 m above sea level.
Despite its vast surface, it is relatively shallow. Its mean depth is about 40 m and its maximum depth roughly 81 m. It therefore holds 2,760 km³ of water, while the smaller Baikal holds more than eight and a half times as much.
- Mean depth
- 40 m
- Surface elevation
- 1,134 m a.s.l.
- Location
- Uganda / Kenya / Tanzania
- Type
- lake in a tectonic depression
Where the lake is
Lake Victoria: Questions
Its mean depth is only about 40 m. Across 68,800 km², that yields 2,760 km³ of water. The deeper Baikal has a smaller surface but holds more than eight times as much.
Yes. The lake is the chief headwater reservoir of the White Nile, which leaves it at Jinja in Uganda.
About 1,134 m above sea level, on the East African plateau between Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Sources and data year
Outline: Natural Earth, public domain. Simplified and reprojected.