Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake by surface area and borders Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
The lake covers about 59,947 square kilometres and occupies a broad depression between the Western and Eastern Rift Valley branches. Its waters drain northward through the Victoria Nile, which becomes part of the White Nile system.
British explorer John Hanning Speke named the lake in 1858 after Queen Victoria. The lake is sometimes called Victoria Nyanza, using a regional name for a large body of water.
Lake Victoria is not Africa’s deepest lake; Lake Tanganyika is much deeper. Its large area also differs from its relatively shallow average depth, which is about 40 metres.