Chilwa, Lake

Chilwa, Lake
Lake, southeastern Malawi.

It lies in a depression southeast of Lake Malawi between the Shire Highlands and the Mozambique border. Today it covers about 1,000 sq mi (2,600 sq km); it was much larger when David Livingstone arrived there in 1859, and originally it filled the entire depression.

* * *

lake, Malaŵi
also called  Lake Shirwa,  Portuguese  Chirua,  

      lake in southeastern Malaŵi. It lies in a depression between the Shire Highlands (west) and the Mozambique border (east) that extends north-northeast from the foot of the Mulanje Mountains through Lake Chiuta to the Lugenda Valley in Mozambique. The Chilwa basin-plain is broken by a few hill formations (including Chisi Island and Mpyupyu Hill) and exhibits five terrace levels formed by shrinkage of the lake.

      Originally filling the entire depression, the lake has dropped in recent times; it was 30 ft (9 m) deeper and much larger when David Livingstone arrived there in April 1859. With a maximum depth of 10 ft, the lake now covers an area of 1,000 sq mi (2,600 sq km), half of which is covered by swamp and mixed savanna vegetation. It forms an endoreic (in-flowing) drainage system for the western Mulanje Mountains, the Chilwa-Phalombe Plain, and the Zomba and Chikala mountains. The main rivers flowing toward the lake—the Sombani, Palombe, and Likangala—all have perennial sources but run dry because of evaporation and seepage as they cross the lacustrine sands and silts of their lower reaches. The lake level fluctuates 2–3 ft with the seasons, and its waters are increasingly saline away from the swampy shores. The lake margins are cultivated with rice during the dry season, and commercial fishing is important.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • lake — lake1 /layk/, n. 1. a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land. 2. any similar body or pool of other liquid, as oil. 3. (go) jump in the lake, (used as an exclamation of dismissal or impatience.) [bef. 1000; ME lak(e) …   Universalium

  • Lake — /layk/, n. Simon, 1866 1945, U.S. engineer and naval architect. * * * I Relatively large body of slow moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin. Lakes are most abundant in high northern latitudes and in mountain regions, particularly …   Universalium

  • Chilwa — See Geographische Lage: Südost Malawi Zuflüsse: Sambani, Phalombe Abflüsse: keine Städte am Ufer: keine Daten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Chilwa-See — Bild gesucht  BW Geographische Lage Südost Malawi Zuflüsse …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lake Chilwa — seen from space (false color) Location Zomba District Coordinates …   Wikipedia

  • Lake Chiuta — is a shallow lake on the border between Malawi and Mozambique. It lies to the north of Lake Chilwa, which has no outlet, and the lakes are separated by a sandy ridge. Both lakes lie in a graben which runs northeast southwest, east of the main… …   Wikipedia

  • Malombe, Lake — ▪ lake, Malaŵi       lake fed and drained by the Shire River in southern Malaŵi. It lies in a broken depression running northwest from Lake Chilwa to Lake Nyasa (Nyasa, Lake), parallel to the Shire Rift Valley. The lake is fed by the Shire River… …   Universalium

  • East African lakes — ▪ lake system, East Africa Introduction  group of lakes in East Africa (eastern Africa). The majority of the East African lakes lie within the East African Rift System, which forms a part of a series of gigantic fissures in the Earth s crust… …   Universalium

  • Malawi — Malawian, adj., n. /meuh lah wee/, n. 1. Formerly, Nyasaland. a republic in SE Africa, on the W and S shores of Lake Malawi: formerly a British protectorate and part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland; gained independence July 6, 1964; a …   Universalium

  • Mozambique — /moh zam beek , zeuhm /, n. 1. Formerly, Portuguese East Africa. a republic in SE Africa: formerly an overseas province of Portugal; gained independence in 1975. 18,165,476; 297,731 sq. mi. (771,123 sq. km). Cap.: Maputo. 2. a seaport on an… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”