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gorges and ravines, densely wooded, break the outline of the mountains. Through these gorges dash magnificent cascades, others leaping the escarpments of the plateaus in waterfalls of See also:

GREAT

great See also:

VOLUME

volume and See also:

DEPTH

depth. Towards the north the hills recede from the coast and on both sides flats extend for distances varying from 5 to 15 m.

On the eastern side, 92 m. from the southern end of the Nyanza, the See also:

Victoria Nile enters the lake, here not more than 6 m. across, through a See also:

WILDERNESS

wilderness of See also:

woods, the See also:

DELTA (from the shape of the Gr. letter A, delta, originally used of the mouth of the Nile)

delta of the Nile extending over 4 m. The mouth of the See also:

main stream is obstructed by a See also:

bar of its own formation; the current is sluggish; there are many side channels, and the See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance of the lake gives no hint that a great river has joined its See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters. For 5 or 6 m. north of the junction of the Victoria Nile the lake suffers no material diminution in width. Then, however, the eastern and western shores approach each other, and a current is perceptible flowing north. The lake has becomethe See also:

BAHR

Bahr-el-See also:

JEBEL (plur. jibed)

Jebel, or See also:

Mountain river, as this See also:

section of the Nile is called. Throughout its extent Albert Nyanza is shallow; at its southern end the water for a considerable distance is not more than 3 ft. deep. The deepest soundings give only 50 to 55 ft., the See also:

AVERAGE

average depth being 30 to 40 ft. The Alberline See also:

Basin of the Nile.—Albert Nyanza receives the whole of the drainage of Albert Edward Nyanza and the Semliki river, and with them and its own basin forms the "Albertine" Nile See also:

SYSTEM

system. Its waters, as stated above, mingle with those of the Victoria Nile, their See also:

UNITED

united volume flowing north towards the Mediterranean. A study of the changes going on in the rif t-valley in which the lakes See also:

lie leads, however, to the belief that the Albert Edward and Albert Nyanzas are drying up, a See also:

PROCESS

process which the nature of the drainage areas is helping to bring about. That the Albert Edward Nyanza once covered a much larger area than it does at present is certain. At that See also:

time, See also:

RECENT

recent from a See also:

GEOLOGICAL

geological standpoint, the valley to the north, through which now flows the Semliki river, was blocked.

The removal of the See also:

block led to the shrinkage of the lake and the formation of the Semliki, which found its way to the more northern lake—Albert Nyanza. Gradually the Semliki eroded its See also:

bed, and consequently the level of Albert Edward Nyanza continued to fall. The process continues but is checked by the existence of the See also:

rock barrier which stretches across the Semliki. This stream leaves Albert Edward Nyanza at its N.W. end in o° 8' 30" S., and after a course of about 16o m. enters Albert Nyanza in 1° 9' N. In its upper and in its See also:

LOWER

lower course the, river flows either through high alluvial plains, in which it has scored a deep channel, or across swamp See also:

LAND

land. In the See also:

MIDDLE

middle section, which has a length of some 75 m., the river runs in a deep narrow valley covered with the densest See also:

FOREST

forest. On the west this valley is bounded by the See also:

CONGO

Congo mountains, which See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form the See also:

wall of the rift-valley, on the east by the mighty range of See also:

RUWENZORI

Ruwenzori, whose heights See also:

TOWER (Lat. turris; Fr. tour, clocker; Ital. torre; Ger. Thurm)

tower over 16,000 ft. above sea-level. In this length of 75 M. the river falls in cataracts and rapids over 800 ft. This rocky barrier acts as a regulator for the water received from Albert Edward Nyanza and, by checking the erosion of the river bed, tends to maintain the level of the lake. When this bar wears away Albert Edward Nyanza will, in all See also:

PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability, disappear as a lake and will become a river, a continuation of its present most southern affluent, the Ruchuru. Albert Nyanza, on the other See also:

hand, is threatened in the distant future with destruction from another cause—the filling of its bed by the See also:

ALLUVIUM

alluvium poured into it by the Semliki, the Victoria Nile and, in a lesser degree, by other streams. The Semliki receives directly or indirectly the whole of the drainage of Ruwenzori, and also that of the eastern See also:

FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face of the Congo mountains as well as the drainage basin of Albert Edward Nyanza.

The amount of alluvial See also:

MATTER

matter carried is enormous; from Ruwenzori alone the detritus is very great. Charged with all this matter, the Semliki, as it emerges from the region of forest and cataracts (in which, of ten closely confined by its mountain barriers, the stream is deep and rapid), becomes sluggish, its slope flattens out, and its waters, unable to carry their See also:

BURDEN, or BURTHEN

burden, See also:

DEPOSIT (Lat. depositurn, from deponere, to lay down, to put in the care of)

deposit much of it upon the land. This process, continually going on, has formed a large plain at the south end of Albert Nyanza, which has seriously encroached upon the lake. At the northern end of the lake the sediment brought down by the Victoria Nile is producing a similar effect. Albert Nyanza has indeed shrunk in its dimensions during the comparatively few years it has been known to Europeans. Thus at the S.W. end, Nyamsasi, which was an See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island in 1889, has become a See also:

peninsula. Islands which in 1876 were on the east coast no longer exist; they now form See also:

PART

part of the foreshore. On the other hand, the shrinkage of the lake level caused the appearance in 1885 of an island where in 1879 there had been an expanse of shallow water. It seems probable that, in a See also:

period geologically not very remote, the " Albertine " system will consist of one great river, extending from the northern slopes of the See also:

KIVU

Kivu range, where the Ruchuru has its rise, to. the existing junction of the Victoria Nile with Albert Nyanza. The combined drainage area, including the water See also:

SURFACE

surface of Albert Edward Nyanza, the Semliki and Albert Nyanza, is some S. Ash. H.

N. O. C. r6,600 sq. m. Throughout this area the rainfall is heavy (40 to 6o in. or more per annum), the volume of water entering Albert Nyanza by the Semliki when in See also:

flood being not less than 700 cubic metres per second. Of the water received by Albert Nyanza annually (omitting the Victoria Nile from the calculation) between 50 and 6o% is lost by evaporation, whilst 24,265,000,000 cubic metres are annually withdrawn by the Bahr-el-Jebel. The " Albertine " system plays a comparatively insignificant part in the See also:

ANNUAL

annual flood rise of the See also:

White Nile, but to its waters are due the See also:

MAINTENANCE (Fr. maintenance, from maintenir, to maintain, support, Lat. manu tenere, to hold in the hand)

maintenance of a See also:

CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply to this river throughout the See also:

YEAR

year. See also:

DISCOVERY

Discovery and Exploration.—Albert Nyanza was first reached by See also:

Sir See also:

SAMUEL

Samuel See also:

Baker on the 14th of See also:

March 1864 near Vacovia, a small See also:

VILLAGE

village of fishermen and See also:

salt-makers on the east coast. From a granitic cliff 1500 ft. above the water he looked out over a boundless See also:

HORIZON (Gr. 6pfTwv, dividing)

horizon on the south and south-west, and towards the west descried at a distance of 5o or 6o m. mountains about 7000 ft. high. Albert Nyanza was consequently entered on his See also:

map as a vast lake extending about 380 M. But the circumnavigation of the lake by Gessi See also:

PASHA

Pasha (1876), and by Emin Pasha in 1884, showed that Baker had been deceived as to the size of the lake. By the end of the 19th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century the See also:

topography of the lake region was known with See also:

FAIR

fair accuracy.

The lake forms part of the (See also:

BRITISH

British) See also:

UGANDA

Uganda See also:

PROTECTORATE

Protectorate, but the north-west shores were leased in 1894 to the Congo See also:

FREE

Free See also:

State during the See also:

SOVEREIGNTY

sovereignty of See also:

king See also:

LEOPOLD (M.H. Ger. Liupolt; O.H. Ger. Liupald, from hut, Mod. Ger. Leute, " people," and paid, " bold," i.e. " bold for the people ")

Leopold II. of See also:

Belgium. Of this leased area a See also:

STRIP

strip 15 m. wide, giving the Congo ,State a passage way to the lake, was to remain in its See also:

possession after the determination of the See also:

LEASE (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. laxare, to loosen)

lease. See Nile; Sir W. Garstin's See also:

REPORT (O.Fr. report or raport, modern rapport, from O.Fr. reporter, mod. rap porter, Lat. reportare, to bring back, in poetical use only, of bringing back an account, news, &c.)

Report upon the Basin of the Upper Nile (See also:

EGYPT

Egypt, No. 2, 1904) ; Capt. H. G. See also:

Lyons' The Physiography of the River Nile and its Basin (See also:

Cairo, 1906), and the authorities quoted in those See also:

WORKS

works. (W. E. G.; F. R.

End of Article: ALBERT NYANZA

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