Lake Victoria
Location	Africa
Coordinates	1°S 33°E / 1°S 33°E / -1; 33Coordinates: 1°S 33°E / 1°S 33°E / -1; 33
Primary inflows	Kagera River
Primary outflows	White Nile (river) (known as the "Victoria Nile" as it flows out of the lake)
Catchment area	184,000 km2 (71,000 sq mi) 238,900 km2 (92,200 sq mi) basin
Basin countries	Tanzania Uganda Kenya
Max. length	337 km (209 mi)
Max. width	250 km (160 mi)
Surface area	68,800 km2 (26,600 sq mi)
Average depth	40 m (130 ft)
Max. depth	83 m (272 ft)
Water volume	2,750 km3 (660 cu mi)
Shore length1	3,440 km (2,140 mi)
Surface elevation	1,133 m (3,717 ft)
Islands	3,000 (Ssese Islands, Uganda)
Settlements	Bukoba, Tanzania Mwanza, Tanzania Musoma, Tanzania Kisumu, Kenya Kendu Bay, Kenya Homa Bay, Kenya Kampala, Uganda Entebbe, Uganda Jinja, Uganda
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Victoria (Nam Lolwe in Luo) is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake.

With a surface area of 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi), Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake by area, and it is the largest tropical lake in the world. Lake Victoria is the world's third largest freshwater lake by surface area (only Lake Michigan–Huron and Lake Superior in North America are larger). In terms of its volume, Lake Victoria is the world's eighth largest continental lake, and it contains about 2,750 cubic kilometers (2.2 billion acre-feet) of water.

Lake Victoria receives most of its water from direct precipitation or from thousands of small streams. The largest stream flowing into this lake is the Kagera River, the mouth of which lies on the lake's western shore. There are two rivers that leave the lake, the White Nile (known as the "Victoria Nile" as it leaves the lake), flows out at Jinja, Uganda on the lake's north shore and the Katonga River flows out at Lukaya on the western shore connecting the lake to Lake George.^[1]

Lake Victoria occupies a shallow depression in Africa and has a maximum depth of 84 metres (276 ft) and an average depth of 40 metres (130 ft).^[2] Its catchment area covers 184,000 square kilometers (71,040 sq mi). The lake has a shoreline of 4,828 kilometres (3,000 mi), with islands constituting 3.7% of this length,^[3] and is divided among three countries: Kenya (6% or 4,100 km²/1,600 sq mi), Uganda (45% or 31,000 km²/12,000 sq mi) and Tanzania (49% or 33,700 km²/13,000 sq mi).^[4]

The lake supports Africa's largest inland fishery.

Geology[link]

Lake Victoria has, during its geological history, gone through changes ranging from its present shallow depression, through to what may have been a series of much smaller lakes.^[3] Geological cores taken from its bottom show that Lake Victoria has dried up completely at least three times since it formed.^[5] These drying cycles are probably related to past ice ages, which were times when precipitation declined globally.^[5] Lake Victoria last dried out 17,300 years ago, and it refilled beginning about 14,700 years ago. Geologically, Lake Victoria is relatively young – about 400,000 years old – and it formed when westward-flowing rivers were dammed by an upthrown crustal block.^[5]

Lake Victoria and the Great Rift Valley

This geological history probably contributed to the dramatic cichlid speciation that characterises its ecology, as well as that of other African Great Lakes,^[6] although there are researchers who dispute this, arguing that while Lake Victoria was at its lowest between 18,000 and 14,000 calendar years ago, and it dried out at least once during that time, there is no evidence of remnant ponds or marshes persisting within the desiccated basin. If such features existed, then they would have been small, shallow, turbid, and/or saline, and therefore markedly different from the lake to which today's species are adapted.^[7]

The shallowness of Lake Victoria, its limited river inflow, and its large surface area compared to its volume make it vulnerable to the effects of climate changes.

Hydrology and limnology[link]

Lake Victoria receives almost all (80%) of its water from direct precipitation.^[3] Average evaporation on the lake is between 2–2.2 metres (6 ft 7 in–7 ft 3 in) per annum, almost double the precipitation of riparian areas.^[8] In the Kenya Sector, the main influent rivers are the Sio, Nzoia, Yala, Nyando, Sondu Miriu, Mogusi and the Migori. Combined, these rivers contribute far more water to the lake than does the largest single in-flowing river, the Kagera, which enters the lake from the west.^[9] The only river flowing out of the lake is the White Nile.

The lake exhibits eutrophic conditions. In 1990–1991, oxygen concentrations in the mixed layer were higher than in 1960–1961, with nearly continuous oxygen supersaturation in surface waters. Oxygen concentrations in hypolimnetic waters (i.e. the layer of water that lies below the thermocline, is noncirculating, and remains perpetually cold) were lower in 1990–1991 for a longer period than in 1960–1961, with values of less than 1 mg per litre (< 0.4 gr/cu ft) occurring in water as shallow as 40 metres (130 ft) compared with a shallowest occurrence of greater than 50 metres (160 ft) in 1961. The changes in oxygenation are considered consistent with measurements of higher algal biomass and productivity.^[10] These changes have arisen for multiple reasons: successive burning within its basin,^[11] soot and ash from which has been deposited over the lake's wide area; from increased nutrient inflows via rivers,^[12] and from increased pollution associated with settlement along its shores.

The extinction of cichlids in the genus Haplochromis has also been blamed on the lake's eutrophication. The fertility of tropical waters depends on the rate at which nutrients can be brought into solution. The influent rivers of Lake Victoria provide few nutrients to the lake in relation to its size. Because of this, it is thought that most of Lake Victoria's nutrients are locked up in lake-bottom deposits.^[3][13] By itself, this vegetative matter decays slowly. Animal flesh decays considerably faster, however, and therefore the fertility of the lake is dependent on the rate at which these nutrients can be taken up by fish and other organisms.^[13] There is little doubt that Haplochromis played an important role in returning detritus and plankton back into solution.^[14][15][16] With some 80% of Haplochromis species feeding off detritus, and equally capable of feeding off one another, they represented a tight, internal recycling system, moving nutrients and biomass both vertically and horizontally through the water column, and even out of the lake via predation by humans and terrestrial animals and humans.^[14] The removal of Haplochromis, however, may have contributed to the increasing frequency of algal blooms,^[12][15][16] which may in turn be responsible for mass fish kills.^[12]

Fisheries[link]

Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery.^[17]

Environmental issues[link]

There are a number of environmental issues associated with Lake Victoria.

Fishing[link]

The introduction of exotic fish species, especially the Nile perch, has altered the freshwater ecosystem of the lake and driven several hundred species of native cichlids to extinction or near extinction.

Water hyacinth invasion[link]

Water hyacinth has become a major invasive plant species in Lake Victoria.

Pollution[link]

Population density around Lake Victoria

Pollution of Lake Victoria is mainly due to discharge of raw sewage into the lake, dumping of domestic and industrial waste, and fertiliser and chemicals from farms. Raw sewage decomposes more cleanly in soil, and should be directed back to the ground rather into a drinking water source.

The Lake Victoria basin is one of the most densely populated rural areas in the world. Its shores are dotted with cities and towns, including Kisumu, Kisii, and Homa Bay in Kenya; Kampala, Jinja, and Entebbe in Uganda; and Bukoba, Mwanza and Msoma in Tanzania. These cities and towns also are home to many factories that discharge their waste directly into the lake and its influent rivers. These urban areas also discharge raw sewage into the river increasing its eutrophication that in turn is helping to sustain the invasive water hyacinth.^[18]

Exploration history[link]

The first recorded information about Lake Victoria comes from Arab traders plying the inland routes in search of gold, ivory, other precious commodities and slaves. An excellent map, known as the Al Idrisi map from the calligrapher who developed it and dated from the 1160s, clearly depicts an accurate representation of Lake Victoria, and attributes it as the source of the Nile.

The lake as it is visible from the shores of the Speke Resort in Kampala, Uganda

The lake was first sighted by a European in 1858 when the British explorer John Hanning Speke reached its southern shore while on his journey with Richard Francis Burton to explore central Africa and locate the Great Lakes. Believing he had found the source of the Nile on seeing this "vast expanse of open water" for the first time, Speke named the lake after Queen Victoria. Burton, who had been recovering from illness at the time and resting further south on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, was outraged that Speke claimed to have proved his discovery to have been the true source of the Nile, which Burton regarded as still unsettled. A very public quarrel ensued, which not only sparked a great deal of intense debate within the scientific community of the day, but much interest by other explorers keen to either confirm or refute Speke's discovery.^[19]

The famous British explorer and missionary David Livingstone failed in his attempt to verify Speke's discovery, instead pushing too far west and entering the River Congo system instead.^[20] It was ultimately the Welsh-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley, on an expedition funded by the New York Herald newspaper, who confirmed the truth of Speke's discovery, circumnavigating the lake and reporting the great outflow at Ripon Falls on the lake's northern shore.

Local languages around lake Victoria

Nalubaale Dam[link]

The only outflow for Lake Victoria is at Jinja, Uganda, where it forms the White Nile. The water 12,000 years ago drained over a natural rock weir. In 1952, British colonial engineers blasted out the weir and reservoir. A standard for mimicking the old rate of outflow called the "agreed curve" was established, setting the maximum flow rate at 300 to 1,700 cubic metres per second (392–2,224 cu yd/sec) depending on the lake's water level.

In 2002, Uganda completed a second hydroelectric complex in the area, the Kiira Power Station, with World Bank assistance. By 2006 the water levels in Lake Victoria had reached an 80-year low, and Daniel Kull, an independent hydrologist living in Nairobi, Kenya, calculated that Uganda was releasing about twice as much water as is allowed under the agreement,^[21] and was primarily responsible for recent drops in the lake's level.

Transport[link]

Since the 1900s Lake Victoria ferries have been an important means of transport between Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The main ports on the lake are Kisumu, Mwanza, Bukoba, Entebbe, Port Bell and Jinja. Until Kenyan independence in 1963 the fastest and most modern ferry, MV Victoria, was designated a Royal Mail Ship. In 1966 train ferry services between Kenya and Tanzania were established with the introduction of MV Uhuru and MV Umoja. The ferry MV Bukoba sank in the lake on May 21, 1996 with a loss of between 800 and 1,000 lives, making it one of Africa's worst maritime disasters.

See also[link]

• Kishanda

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lake Victoria

• Decreasing levels of Lake Victoria Worry East African Countries
• Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library
• New Scientist article on Uganda's violation of the agreed curve for hydroelectric water flow.
• Dams Draining Lake Victoria
• Troubled Waters: The Coming Calamity on Lake Victoria multimedia from CLPMag.org
• Specie List of Lake Victoria Basin Cichlids of Lake Victoria and surrounding lakes
• G. D. Hale Carpenter joined the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and took the DM in 1913 with a dissertation on the tsetse fly (Glossina palpalis) and African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). He published: A Naturalist on Lake Victoria, with an Account of Sleeping Sickness and the Tse-tse Fly (1920). T. F. Unwin Ltd, London; Biodiversity Archive

Institutions of the East African Community

• Lake Victoria Development Programme
• Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

John Prine
John Prine at MerleFest, Wilkesboro N.C. (2006)
Background information
Born	(1946-10-10) October 10, 1946 (age 65)
Origin	Maywood, Illinois, United States
Genres	Country Folk Progressive bluegrass
Occupations	Singer-songwriter Guitarist
Instruments	Vocals Guitar
Years active	1971–present
Labels	Atlantic, Asylum, Oh Boy, Rhino
Associated acts	Steve Goodman
Website	www.johnprine.net

John Prine (born October 10, 1946, in Maywood, Illinois) is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.

Biography[link]

Prine is the son of William Prine and Verna Hamm. Prine started playing guitar at age 14, taught by his brother, David.^[1] Prine attended Proviso East High School, and was a member on the school's gymnastic team. He was a postman for five years and served in the Army during the Vietnam War era, serving in Germany, before beginning his musical career in Chicago.

In the late 1960s, while Prine was delivering mail in Maywood, Illinois, he began to sing at open mic evenings at the Fifth Peg on Armitage Avenue. Prine was initially a spectator, reluctant to perform, but eventually did so in response to a "You think you can do better?" comment made to him by another performer. Chicago Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert heard him there and wrote the first review Prine ever received, calling him a great songwriter.^[2] He became a central figure in the Chicago Folk Revival, which also included such singer-songwriters as Steve Goodman, Bonnie Koloc, Jim Post and Fred Holstein. Joined by such established musicians as Jethro Burns and Bob Gibson, Prine performed frequently at such clubs as the Earl of Old Town, the Quiet Knight, Somebody Else's Troubles, The 5th Peg, and the Bulls.

John Prine is currently living in Nashville with his third wife, Fiona Whelan. They have three children, stepson Jody Whelan, Tommy and Jack. Prine has a second residence in Pinellas County, Florida.

Recordings[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2010)

In 1971 Prine's self-titled debut album was released. He and friend Steve Goodman had each been active in the Chicago folk scene before being "discovered" by Kris Kristofferson (Kristofferson remarked that Prine wrote songs so good that "we'll have to break his thumbs"). The album included his signature songs "Illegal Smile," "Sam Stone," and the folk and country standards "Angel from Montgomery" and "Paradise." The album also included "Hello In There", a song about aging that was later covered by numerous artists and "Far From Me," a lonely waltz about lost love for a waitress that Prine later said was his favorite of all his songs. The album received many positive reviews, and some hailed Prine as "the next Dylan." Bob Dylan himself appeared unannounced at one of Prine's first New York City club appearances, anonymously backing him on harmonica.

Prine's second album, Diamonds In The Rough, was a surprise for many after the critical success of his first LP; it was an uncommercial, stripped-down affair that reflected Prine's fondness for bluegrass music and features songs reminiscent of Hank Williams's work as Luke The Drifter. Highlights include the allegorical "The Great Compromise," which features a recitation and addresses the Vietnam War, and the touching ballad "Souvenirs," which Prine later recorded with Goodman.

Later albums include Sweet Revenge (1973), containing such fan favorites as "Dear Abby," "Grandpa Was A Carpenter," and "Christmas In Prison", and Common Sense (1975), with "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard". The latter album was Prine's first to be charted in the US Top 100 by Billboard, reflecting growing commercial success. It was produced by Steve Cropper. Many veteran Prine fans view the release of 1978's Bruised Orange as a creative highpoint. The Steve Goodman-produced album gave listeners songs such as "The Hobo Song," "Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone," and the title track showing that he could capture the human condition as easily as writing politically inspired anthems.

In 1974, singer David Allan Coe achieved considerable success on the country charts with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name", co-written by Prine and Goodman. The song good-naturedly spoofed stereotypical country music lyrics. Prine refused to take a songwriter's credit and the tune went to Goodman, although Goodman bought Prine a jukebox as a gift from his publishing royalties.

The 1979 album Pink Cadillac features two songs produced by legendary Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, who by this time rarely did any studio work. The first song, "Saigon," is about a Vietnam vet traumatized by the war ("The static in my attic's gettin' ready to blow"). During the recording, one of the guitar amps blew up (which is evident on the album track). The other song Phillips produced is "How Lucky," about Prine's hometown.

Prine continued writing and recording albums throughout the 1980s and formed his own record label, Oh Boy Records. His songs continued to be covered by other artists; the country supergroup The Highwaymen recorded "The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over," which had been written by Prine and Goodman. Steve Goodman died of leukemia in 1984 and Prine continues to perform many of Goodman's songs in concert to this day, such as "My Old Man."

In 1991, Prine released the Grammy Award-winning The Missing Years, his first collaboration with producer and Heartbreakers bassist Howie Epstein. The title song records Prine's humorous take on what Jesus did in the unrecorded years between his childhood and ministry. In 1995, Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings was released, another collaboration with Epstein. Prine followed in 1999 with In Spite of Ourselves, which was unusual for him in that it contained only one original song—the rest were covers of classic country songs—and all were duets with well-known female country vocalists, including Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Dolores Keane, and Iris DeMent (whom Prine appeared with on the Letterman Show & referred to as his "favorite girl singers".)

In 2001 John co-starred in the Billy Bob Thornton movie Daddy & Them (Alvin Montgomery), and "In Spite of Ourselves" can be heard as the end credits roll .

Cancer[link]

In early 1998, Prine was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer on the right side of his neck. He had surgery to remove the diseased tissue and was left with a substantial loss of tissue. This was followed by six weeks of radiation therapy.^[3] The surgery altered his vocals, and has added a "gravel" tone to his voice.^[4][5]

Awards and influence[link]

In 2003, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting by the UK's BBC Radio 2 and that same year was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The following year saw his song "Sam Stone" covered by Laura Cantrell for the Future Soundtrack for America compilation.

Prine has taken his place as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. In 2009, Bob Dylan told the Huffington Post that Prine was one of his favourite writers, stating "Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs. I remember when Kris Kristofferson first brought him on the scene. All that stuff about "Sam Stone," the soldier junkie daddy, and "Donald and Lydia," where people make love from ten miles away. Nobody but Prine could write like that."^[6] In Johnny Cash's autobiography Cash, he admitted "I don't listen to music much at the farm, unless I'm going into songwriting mode and looking for inspiration. Then I'll put on something by the writers I've admired and used for years (Rodney Crowell, John Prine, Guy Clark, and the late Steve Goodman are my Big Four)..."^[7] When asked by Word Magazine in 2008 if he heard Pink Floyd's influence in newer British bands like Radiohead, Roger Waters replied "I don't really listen to Radiohead. I listened to the albums and they just didn't move me in the way, say, John Prine does. His is just extra-ordinarily eloquent music—and he lives on that plane with Neil Young and Lennon."^[8] Prine received the Artist of the Year award at the Americana Music Awards on September 9, 2005. The award was accepted in his name by awards host and long-time friend Billy Bob Thornton.

Recent years[link]

Prine recorded a version of Stephen Foster's "Old Kentucky Home" in 2004 for the compilation album Beautiful Dreamer, which won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2005.

In 2005, Prine released his first all-new offering since Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings, the album Fair & Square, which tended toward a more laid-back, acoustic approach than, for example, Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings. The album contains songs such as "Safety Joe," about a man who has never taken any risks in his life, and also "Some Humans Ain't Human," Prine's protest piece on the album, which talks about the ugly side of human nature and includes a quick shot at President George W. Bush. Fair & Square won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. The album contains original songs plus two covers: A.P. Carter's "Bear Creek Blues" and Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons."

2010 kicked off with a flurry of Prine activity, as he stopped by The Marty Stuart Show on RFD-TV in January to perform three of his most popular recordings: "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness," "Souvenirs," & "Paradise." Later in May Prine appeared on Late Show With David Letterman, performing "All The Best" with Jim James of the band My Morning Jacket.

On July 3, 2010, Prine appeared at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, broadcast on American Public Media's A Prairie Home Companion, playing several of his songs.^[9]

On September 30, 2011, Prine played a thirteen song set on the main Banjo Stage at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco, California.

Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows[link]

On June 22, 2010 Oh Boy Records released a tribute album titled "Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: The Songs of John Prine". The album features members of the modern folk revival including My Morning Jacket, The Avett Brothers, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lambchop, Josh Ritter, Drive-By Truckers, Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins, Deer Tick featuring Liz Isenberg, Justin Townes Earle, Those Darlins, and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon.^[10]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Guest singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• A Literary Evening with John Prine and Ted Kooser. March 9, 2005. The Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress.
• Interview with John Prine - KyndMusic, September 2005
• 1971 Radio Interview with John Prine on WGLD Oak Park - fr JOHNPRINE.NET
• John Prine at the Internet Movie Database

Musa Juma Mumbo (December 6, 1968^[1] – March 15, 2011) was a rumba and Benga musician from Kenya. He was the bandleader, guitarist and composer for Orchestra Limpopo International. Most of his music were sung in Dholuo language.^[1]

He was from Usonga, Siaya District.^[2] He started his music career performing with his younger brother Omondi Tony (real name Anthony Omondi Mumbo) plying rumba in small clubs in Nairobi and Kisumu. Together they formed Orchestra Limpopo International which gradually rose into national fame. Omondi Tony, who had turned into a solo career, died on June 6, 2008 of complication caused by a traffic accident.^[3]

Some of most popular songs by Musa Juma were "Hera Mudho", "Ufisadi", "Mercelina", and "Freddy".^[4] He released eight albums, the last of them being titled Lake Victoria.^[3]

During his career he toured in various countries.^[2] Only weeks before his death in 2011, he and his band had a tour in the United States.^[4]

He died of pneumonia on March 15, 2011 at Mombasa Hospital.^[3] He was being survived by wife Winnie Juma.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Musa Juma