Which African lake is the largest in Africa by surface area and home to many hippos?

Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake by surface area and is home to many hippopotamuses. It lies in the Great Rift Valley and is shared by Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, with smaller parts of its basin extending into Rwanda and Burundi.

The lake covers about 59,947 square kilometres, making it the world’s largest tropical lake and the second-largest freshwater lake by surface area after North America’s Lake Superior. Despite its great area, Lake Victoria is relatively shallow, with an average depth of roughly 40 metres.

Its shores, islands, wetlands, and inflowing rivers support hippos, crocodiles, fish, and hundreds of bird species. The lake is also famous for endemic cichlid fish, many of which have suffered from habitat changes and the introduction of Nile perch.

A common mix-up is Lake Tanganyika: it is Africa’s second-largest lake by surface area, but it is much deeper and contains more water by volume. Lake Victoria is the correct answer when the question specifies surface area.