Which African lake is named after Queen Victoria?

Which African lake is named after Queen Victoria? The answer is Lake Victoria.

The lake was named in 1858 by the British explorer John Hanning Speke, who saw it during an expedition with Richard Francis Burton in East Africa. Speke believed the vast body of water was the main source of the Nile River and named it in honour of Queen Victoria, who was then reigning in Britain.

Lake Victoria lies between Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. It is Africa’s largest lake by surface area and the world’s largest tropical lake, although it is not Africa’s deepest lake. Its waters flow north through the Victoria Nile toward Lake Kyoga and eventually the White Nile.

A common mix-up is confusing Lake Victoria with Lake Malawi or Lake Tanganyika, both of which are also major African Great Lakes. Lake Victoria is especially associated with the Nile’s source, but the broader Nile headwaters include a complex network of rivers and lakes.