Zambezi River Basin

Lakes

There are three major lakes in the Zambezi basin,

Lake Malawi /Nyasa/Niassa), Lake Kariba and

Lake Cahora Bassa. Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa

is the second deepest lake in Africa after Lake

Tanganyika and the third deepest in the world

(Chenje 2000). Lake Kariba and Lake Cahora Bassa

are artificial lakes created by the construction of

dams on the Zambezi River. There are many other

smaller natural and artificial lakes associated with

dams constructed for hydropower and/or water

supply for irrigation or domestic use.

LakeMalawi is sharedwithMozambique, where it is called LagoNiassa; andwithTanzania, where it is called LakeNyasa.

With a capacity of 180 billion cubic metres, Lake Kariba is the largest artificial lake in the Zambezi basin, and the second largest in Africa after

Lake Volta.