Lake Malawi: Origins and Geographical Facts.

by Anthony Archibald

Did you know: Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake in the world and this includes at least 700 species of cichlids. It is the 4th largest fresh water lake in the world by volume, the 9th largest lake in the world by area, and the 03rd largest and 02nd deepest lake in Africa.

Lake Malawi is almost 350 miles long(longer than Lake Michigan, America’s sole great lake) and 47 miles wide. The lake has a surface area of 11400 square miles. Its average depth is 958 feet with maximum depth of 2316 feet (deeper than Lake Michigan). It has a water volume of 2000 cubic miles(more water than Lake Michigan).

Lake Malawi is a rift valley lake. It is part of a group of lakes located in the eastern part of Africa referred to as Rift Valley Lakes. These lakes are all located in what is the East African Rift(itself part of the Great Rift Valley, a huge area that runs from Beqaa Valley in Lebanon to Mozambique), a geographic area that spans several countries from Ethiopia in the north to Malawi in the South.

Lake Malawi is located between Malawi, Mozambique(where they call it Lago Niassa) and Tanzania(where they call it Lake Nyasa). Lake Malawi’s main inlet is the Ruhuhu river on its northern side. Its main outlet is the Shire River(it flows into the Zambezi River) on its southern side.

As a rift valley lake, Lake Malawi and the other lakes of the Eastern African Rift were formed by the action of a geologic fault or rift(separation of the tectonic plates in the earth’s lithosphere). This sort of divergence leads to the emergence of valleys, in other words, low-lying areas/lowlands sandwiched between mountainous or hilly terrain.

Lake Malawi has a rich geography waiting to be experienced by anyone who enjoys traveling and touring. If you want to see a record breaking lake, visit Lake Malawi.You won’t be disappointed.

Lake of Stars: An Introduction to Lake Malawi

by Anthony Archibald

Lake Malawi is a beauty to see. I should know, because I was born and grew up there, on its southern shores in the picturesque small town of Monkey Bay(not to be confused with the Monkey Bay on Phi Phi Islands in Thailand).

In the pages that will follow, I will provide a detailed account of the lake including its origins, its history,its geography,the cultures of the people,its awesomeness, places of interest and everything in between.

Through this blog, I intend to ensure that as many people know what a gem Lake Malawi is so that they can come and see the many wonderful attractions that it has to offer.

If you happen to be from outside Malawi, inorder to know where Lake Malawi is, you firstly need to know where Malawi,the country,is located. If History or Geography were not a major part of your studies, there is a huge chance that you won’t know what Malawi means and where the country is located.Don’t worry, you are forgiven.The truth is that you aren’t alone. Truth is, there is a remarkable number of people outside Malawi, especially outside Africa,who have no idea about the existence of a country by that name,unless they have come in direct contact with a person claiming to come from Malawi.Am one of those people.And I intend, through this blog,to inform as many people as possible about the small country located in Southern Africa, and more so,about Lake Malawi,the Lake of Stars,the Blue City, the lake of Chambo.

I will give you the background to the lake’s origins first, followed by a historical perspective, at least from when the explorers started to come to Africa partly as part of the journeys of discovery from Europe to other parts of the world. Then we will move to issues of interest to those visiting Lake Malawi.

I will provide more details on the origins of the lake’s name when I discuss Lake Malawi’s History, but in brief, Lake Nyasa is the name initially given to Lake Malawi when the missionaries,in some way led by Dr. David Livingstone,came to this region of southern Africa during the missionary journeys aimed at spreading the word in Southern Africa.

Check out the next post where I will be discussing the origins of Lake Malawi. Bye for now.