Lake Mai-Ndombe

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Lake Mai-Ndombe
Lake Mai-Ndombe - seen from space (false color)
seen from space (false color)
Location Bandundu Province
Coordinates 2° S 18.3333333° ECoordinates: 2° S 18.3333333° E
Primary outflows Fimi River
Basin countries Democratic Republic of Congo
Surface area 890 sq mi (2,300 km²)
Average depth 5 m
Max. depth 10 m

Lake Mai-Ndombe (French: Lac Mai-Ndombe) is a large freshwater lake in Bandundu Province in western Democratic Republic of Congo, at 2° S 18.3333333° E. It drains to the south through the Fimi River into the Kwa and Congo Rivers. Known until 1972 as Lake Leopold (after king Leopold II of Belgium); Mai-Ndombe means “black water” in Lingala. The lake is of irregular shape and ranges in depth from only 5 meters (mean) to 10 meters (maximum). Covering approximately 890 square miles (2,300 square km), it is known to double or triple in size during the rainy season. Its waters are oxygenated throughout their depth and the pH ranges from 4.2 to 5.5. Low, forested shores surround it with dense, humid equatorial rainforest prevailing to the north and a mosaic of forest and savanna to the south.

[edit] References

  • Mapping the vegetation cover of the Mai-Ndombe region (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Regional School of Integrated Forest and Land Management. University of Kinshasa, July 2003
  • Source book for the inland fishery resources of Africa, Vol. 1. J.-P. Vanden Bossche & G.M. Bernacsek ISBN 92-5-102983-0

[edit] External links