Lake Victoria

It is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world at 68,800 sq km of area and 1100m above sea level it is shared by Uganda and Kenya. Arguably, Lake Victoria’s appeal is the cruises and fishing trips. Cruises on Lake Victoria are available on boats-for-hire and fishing trips where the catch is the gigantic Nile Perch which weighs over 100kg is offered by several safari companies. Surface area of 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq. mi) maximum depth of 84 m (276 ft.) and an average depth of 40 m (130 ft.)

Lake Kyoga

It is not elongated but has the most distinct features of any lake in Uganda. It undulates greatly from the bulk of the lake and recedes, undulates again and recedes, then finally undulates and recedes. Its three offshoots are almost tentacle-like. Apart from the beautiful sight it affords, and watching the fishermen bring in the catch, it’s near Bugondo Forest Reserve

Lake Albert

It has the same elongated feature characteristic of all rift valley lakes and is 612m deep. Lake Albert named after Albert prince consort of Britain in 1864 by Sir Samuel Baker a British explorer and the first European to spot the lake, like Lake Edward is shared between Uganda and Congo. Besides the beauty of the lake, the people around the lake are mainly a fishing community and are a subject of interest especially late morning when they erupt into a flurry of activity for the  day’s catch is coming in.

Lake Bunyonyi

Lake Bunyonyi is believed to be the second deepest lake in Africa with its deepest end approximately 900m. The lake is dotted with 29 islands. The most prominent of these include the Akampene Island also known as the punishment island, Bushara, Kyahugye, Bwama and Njuyeera, and Bucuranuka. Also the deepest lake in Uganda, home of Otters, crayfish and a place of many little birds in South-western Uganda lies between kisoro and kabale districts close to the border with Rwanda.

Lake Edward & George

These are two Lakes that are both rift lakes but that’s as far their similarity probably goes. Edward is (2325 sq. km), and has an elongated shape and is a deep lake at 913m.  It is shared by Uganda and Congo. Lake George is smaller (250sq km) is shallow and lined by swamp. It’s silted, and the silt washing down from the Rwenzori threatens its existence as it’s no more than 2.4m The two are connected by the 40km Kazinga Channel that is a meandering silver strand which runs right through  Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Semliki River

Semliki River (sometimes Semuliki) is a major river, 140 kilometres (87 mi) long, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda in Central and East Africa. It flows north from Lake Edward to Lake Albert in the Albertine Rift west of the Rwenzori Mountains. Along its lower reaches, it forms part of the international border between the DRC and the western Ugandan district of Bundibugyo, near the Semuliki National Park. It empties into Lake Albert slightly west of the border in Orientale Province of the DRC.

Victoria Nile

The mighty Lake Victoria was thought for a long time to be the source of the Nile. It is in a sense. Waters from the large lake leave by the Victoria Nile to head north to join the Albert Nile in northern Uganda. When the water leaves the massive Lake Victoria, it does so in a spectacular fashion. The water pours out of the lake at the Ripon Falls, also known as Owen Falls Dam, in Uganda. It then goes by the Victoria Nile to Lake Kyoga before joining the Albert Nile. The lake itself is shared by three countries: Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The headwaters for the streams that feed the lake, however, originate from the mountains of Rwanda and Burundi.

Kazinga Channel

The Kazinga Channel in Uganda is a wide, 32-kilometre (20 mi) long natural channel that links Lake Edward and Lake George, and a dominant feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The channel attracts a varied range of animals and birds, with one of the world’s largest concentrations of hippos and numerous Nile crocodiles. Lake George is a small lake with an average depth of only 2.4 metres (7.9 Ft.) and which is fed by streams from the Rwenzori mountains. Its outflow is through the Kazinga Channel which drains into Lake Edward, water levels fluctuating very little.

River Katonga

River Katonga is located in the southwestern part of Uganda. It starts from Lake Victoria and flows, first, northwards into Lake Wamala. The river then flows westwards to empty into Lake George, which connects via the Kazinga Channel with Lake Edward, on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The source of River Katonga is located in Lukaya, Kalungu District River Katonga enters Lake George at Mpanga in Kamwenge District On its course westwards, the river traverses or forms the borders of the following districts: Kalungu District, Bukomansimbi District, Mpigi District, Butambala District, Gomba District, Mityana District, Mubende District, Sembabule District, Kiruhura District, Ibanda District and Kamwenge District. The length of River Katonga is approximately 220 kilometres (140 mi) from source to end.

Kagera River

The Kagera River, also Akagera River, is an East African river, forming part of the upper headwaters of the Nile and carrying water from its most distant source. The section of river named Kagera begins in Burundi, flowing out from Lake Rweru. From the lake, it flows east along the Rwanda-Burundi and Rwanda-Tanzania borders to a confluence with the Ruvubu River.

The waters of the Kagera are thus provided by two major tributaries, the Nyabarongo of Rwanda, which feeds Lake Rweru, and the Ruvubu of Burundi. It is unknown which of these two feeder rivers is the longer and hence the ultimate source of the Nile. From the confluence, the Kagera flows north along the Rwanda-Tanzania border, over Rusumo Falls and through Akagera National Park. It then takes a turn to the east, following the Tanzania-Uganda border and emptying into Lake Victoria in Uganda.

Kafu River

The Kafu River is located in the western part of Uganda. It starts from a swamp approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), northeast of the village of Kitoma, in Kibaale District, Western Uganda. It flows eastwards at first, then it turns north, to empty into the Victoria Nile, approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi), upstream of the town of Masindi Port, in Masindi District, also in Western Uganda. The source of River Kafu is located near Kitoma. River Kafu enters the Victoria Nile near Masindi Port.

Kabi River

The Kabi River is a river in Uganda that is one of the sources of the Nile River. The Kabi originates in central Uganda slightly west of Lake Kyoga and where the Victoria Nile exits from the lake. It flows southwest and receives the inflow of the Lugogo River and the Myanja River before joining the Nkusi River which flows into Lake Albert, which also receives the Victoria Nile and is the source of the Albert Nile River

Albert Nile

The Albert Nile is a 130 mile section of the White Nile (one of the two major tributaries of the Nile River) beginning in northwest Uganda and ending at the border with Sudan, where the name of the river changes to Bahr el Jebel or River of the Mountain, or Mountain Nile.

The Albert Nile begins as the outflow of from Lake Albert on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A few miles from the northern tip of Lake Albert where the Albert Nile begins, the lake receives the flow of the Victoria Nile which drains Lake Victoria. Lake Albert also receives the flow of the Semliki River at its southern end. Lake Albert lies at the northern end of  the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the Great Rift System, which runs from the Middle East south through eastern Africa to Mozambique.

The Albert Nile is navigatable over its entire length. A bridge crosses the Albert Nile just north of Lake Albert at Pakwach which carries a road between the cities of Gula, Uganda to the east and Arua to the northwest.