Lake Edward

Lake Edward

Lake Edward is one of the smallest lakes in the Great Rift Valley and it is located on the border of Uganda and the DRC just a few miles above the equator.

Sir Henry Stanley was the first European to visit this lake. He came to Uganda in the years of Emin Pasha’s expedition in the year 1888.He first though the lake was one with Lake Albert and then he named it the Beatrice gulf. He later believed the lake was one on its own and named it after the Prince of Wales, Edward.

In the year 1973 the lake was named Idi Amin as a tribute to the then president of Uganda but later regained its name after his over throw in 1979. Lake Edward and Lake George are joined by a small channel: the Kazinga channel which runs through queen Elizabeth National park and this channel is famous for the boat cruise.

Lake Edward and Lake George which are neighbors are believed to have been one big lake at one point but were separated by lava flow from the Nyamurangira volcano that divided it leaving just the Kazinga channel to join them.

There is a lot of fishing activities going on around this lake because the lake has a lot of fish and the lake has got other water animals like crocodiles and several birds. Due to this there is little human settlement along the lake due to the threat that these animals pose with the execption of the shore line in the DRC.