Lake Victoria is the second largest lake in the world and is the largest fresh water body in the tropics lying across the equator (0021'N -3°0'S, 31°39' -34°53'E) at an altitude of1116 m above sea level. It is shared between Tanzania (51 %), Uganda (43%) and Kenya (6%). Its greatest length and breadth 400 and 320 km, and respectively; surface area is 68680 km2; mean depth is 40 m and the deepest zone is 60-79 m. The lake's shoreline is extremely irregular and totals some 3 300 km in length. There are a number of large islands (3.7% of the lake's area) especially in the northern half, whose shorelines are as varied as those of the mainland area. It has large expanses of open water, which during rough weather can be difficult to navigate especially by small boat
