Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza (also known as Ukerewe and Nalubaale) is one of the African Great Lakes.
Lake Victoria is relatively young; its current basin formed only 400,000 years ago, when westward-flowing rivers were dammed by an upthrown crustal block.
An excellent map known as the Al Adrisi map, dated from the 1160s C.E., clearly depicts an accurate representation of Lake Victoria and describes it as being the source of the Nile River.
The only outflow for Lake Victoria is at Jinja, Uganda, where it forms the Victoria Nile.
Lake Victoria is approximately 255 miles (410 km) long and 155 miles (250 km) wide.
Lake Victoria's surface area is shared among Kenya (6 percent), Uganda (43 percent) and Tanzania (51 percent).
Lake Victoria is also an inland water transport linkage for the three East African states.
The ecosystem of Lake Victoria and its surroundings has been badly affected by human influence.
Lake Victoria plays a vital role in supporting the millions of people living around its shores, in one of the most densely populated regions on earth.
The increased aridity caused Lake Victoria to dry up completely.
The Lakota are the westernmost of the three Sioux groups, occupying lands in both North and South Dakota.
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.
By 2006, the water levels in Lake Victoria had reached an 80-year low.
Lake Victoria and the rivers flowing into it form a major reservoir for hydroelectric power.