Lake Albert, Africa

Lake Albert
2002 NASA MODIS satellite picture. The dotted grey line is the border between Congo (DRC) (left) and Uganda (right).
Coordinates	1°41′N 30°55′E / 1.683°N 30.917°E / 1.683; 30.917Coordinates: 1°41′N 30°55′E / 1.683°N 30.917°E / 1.683; 30.917
Primary inflows	Victoria Nile
Primary outflows	Albert Nile
Basin countries	Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda
Max. length	160 kilometres (99 mi)
Max. width	30 kilometres (19 mi)
Surface area	5,300 square kilometres (2,000 sq mi)
Average depth	25 metres (82 ft)
Max. depth	51 metres (167 ft)
Water volume	132 cubic kilometres (32 cu mi)
Surface elevation	615 m (2,018 ft)
Settlements	Butiaba, Pakwach
References

Lake Albert, also Albert Nyanza and formerly Lake Mobutu Sese Seko, is a lake located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is one of the African Great Lakes. Lake Albert is Africa's seventh-largest lake, and the world's twenty-seventh largest lake by volume.

Lake Albert is located in the center of the continent, on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lake Albert is the northernmost of the chain of lakes in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift.

It is about 160 km (100 mi) long and 30 km (19 mi) wide, with a maximum depth of 51 m (168 ft), and a surface elevation of 619 m (2,030 ft) above sea level.

Lake Albert is part of the complicated system of the upper Nile. Its main sources are the Victoria Nile, ultimately coming from Lake Victoria to the southeast, and the Semliki River, which issues from Lake Edward to the southwest. The water of the Victoria Nile is much less saline than that of Lake Albert. Its outlet, at the northernmost tip of the lake, is the Albert Nile, which becomes known as the Mountain Nile when it enters South Sudan.

At the southern end of the lake, where the Semliki comes in, there are swamps. Farther south looms the Ruwenzori Range, while a range of hills called the Blue Mountains tower over the northwestern shore. The few settlements along the shore include Butiaba and Pakwach.