Lake Edward

Lake Edward
NASA Landsat photo of Lake Edward (left) and Lake George showing the Kazinga Channel between them
Coordinates	0°20′S 29°36′E / 0.333°S 29.600°E / -0.333; 29.600Coordinates: 0°20′S 29°36′E / 0.333°S 29.600°E / -0.333; 29.600
Primary inflows	Nyamugasani Ishasha Rutshuru Rwindi Ntungwe Lubilia
Primary outflows	Semliki River
Catchment area	12,096 km2 (4,670 sq mi)
Basin countries	Democratic Republic of Congo Uganda
Max. length	77 km (48 mi)
Max. width	40 km (25 mi)
Surface area	2,325 km2 (898 sq mi)
Average depth	17 m (56 ft)
Max. depth	112 m (367 ft)
Water volume	39.5 km3 (9.5 cu mi)
Surface elevation	912 m (2,992 ft)

Lake Edward, Rutanzige or Edward Nyanza is the smallest of the African Great Lakes. It is located in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, with its northern shore a few kilometres south of the equator.

Henry Morton Stanley first saw the lake in 1888, during the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition. The lake was named in honour of Prince Albert Edward, The Prince of Wales, son of then British-monarch Queen Victoria, and later to become King Edward VII.

In 1973, Uganda and Zaire (DRC) renamed it Lake Idi Amin or Lake Idi Amin Dada after Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. After his overthrow in 1979, it recovered its original name.

Lake Edward lies at an elevation of 920 metres (3,020 ft), is 77 kilometres (48 mi) long by 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide at its maximum points, and covers a total surface area of 2,325 square kilometres (898 sq mi), making it the 15th-largest on the continent. The lake is fed by the Nyamugasani River, the Ishasha River, the Rutshuru River, the Ntungwe River, the Rwindi River and Lake George to the northeast empties into it via the Kazinga Channel. It empties to the north via the Semliki River into Lake Albert.

The western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley towers up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above the western shore of the lake. The southern and eastern shores are flat lava plains. The Ruwenzori Mountains are 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the lake.