Background Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift System, located between Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique. It is the ninth largest lake in the world and third largest and second deepest lake in Malawi. Lake Malawi is a lake of tectonic origin a typical rift or graben lake. The formation of the lake basin dates back 8.6 million years and is connected to divergent movement of African and Somali tectonic plates in the East African Rift System (EARS).
Lake Malawi is between 560 and 580 kilometers long and about 75 kilometers wide at its widest point. The lake has a total surface area of about 29,600 square kilometers. The lake is 706 m at its deepest point.
The primary inflow of Lake Malawi is Ruhuhu River located in the northern part of Malawi / southern part of Tanzania. The outlet of Lake Malawi is Shire River, which is also the largest river in Malawi located in the southern region of the country. Shire River drains into Zambezi River and further on into the Indian Ocean in Mozambique.
The lake is home to more species of fish than any other lake including at least 700 species of cichlids. The lake`s water is alkaline (pH 7.7 - 8.6) and warm with atypical surface temperature between 24 and 29 °C (75 - 84 °F). Besides being a home to fish, Lake Malawi is also a habitat for wildlife like such as crocodiles, hippopotamus, monkeys and fish eagles.
The Lake Malawi National Park is located at the southern end of the lake.