Which African Great Lake is the deepest?

Lake Tanganyika is the deepest of the African Great Lakes.

This immense rift lake occupies the Albertine Rift in East Africa and reaches about 668 metres at its deepest point. Its steep, fault-bounded basin helps explain why it is dramatically deeper than broad, shallow Lake Victoria and deeper than Lake Malawi.

Tanganyika is also one of the world’s oldest lakes, with parts of its basin forming millions of years ago. It is shared by Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Zambia. The Ruzizi and Malagarasi are major inflowing rivers, while the Lukuga River connects its outflow to the Congo River system.

Depth is not the same as surface area: Lake Victoria is much larger by area, while Lake Tanganyika is the deepest African Great Lake and the continent’s largest freshwater store by volume. It is also renowned for unusually rich and distinctive fish biodiversity.