Tanganyika’s waters lap Tanzania,
Burundi, Congo DR and Zambia. It is the longest fresh water lake in the world
and the second deepest after lake Baikal in Russia.
The clear
waters host more than 350 different species of fish and is
well known for aquarium
fish exports and excellent angling.
Lake Tanganyika has a remarkably
uniform temperature. The
lower regions are only a mere 3° C colder than the surface. The reason for this strange
phenomenon has yet to be discovered.
Lake Tanganyika boasts over
350 species of fish
of which most are endemic. Like Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika is extremely old, and the
combination of its age and ecological isolation has led to the evolution of unique fish
populations.
Since new species are being discovered continually in these remarkable lakes,
it is difficult to determine which has the highest diversity, but they at least share the
distinction of being the top two lakes in the world in terms of biodiversity, whilst Lake
Tanganyika has the highest proportion of endemicity, concentrated mainly in the Zambian
waters of the lake.
