Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu
Satellite image of Lake Kivu courtesy of NASA.
Lake Kivu Show map of Democratic Republic of the Congo Lake Kivu Show map of Rwanda Lake Kivu Show map of Africa
Coordinates	2°0′S 29°0′E / 2.000°S 29.000°E / -2.000; 29.000
Type	Rift Valley lakes, meromictic, limnically active lake
Primary outflows	Ruzizi River
Catchment area	2,700 km2 (1,000 sq mi)
Basin countries	Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Max. length	89 km (55 mi)[1]
Max. width	48 km (30 mi)[1]
Surface area	2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi)[1]
Average depth	240 m (787 ft)
Max. depth	480 m (1,575 ft)
Water volume	648 km3 (155 cu mi)
Surface elevation	1,460 m (4,790 ft)
Islands	Idjwi
Settlements	Goma, Congo Bukavu, Congo Kibuye, Rwanda Cyangugu, Rwanda

Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes.^[2] It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika.^[3] In 1894, German explorer and officer Gustav Adolf von Götzen was the first European to discover the lake.

In the past, Lake Kivu drained toward the north, contributing to the White Nile. About 13,000 to 9,000 years ago, volcanic activity blocked Lake Kivu's outlet to the watershed of the Nile.^[4] The volcanism produced mountains, including the Virungas, which rose between Lake Kivu and Lake Edward, to the north.^[5] Water from Lake Kivu was then forced south down the Ruzizi. This, in turn, raised the level of Lake Tanganyika, which overflowed down the Lukuga River.^[4]

Lake Kivu is one of three lakes in the world, along with Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, that undergo limnic eruptions (where overturn of deepwater stratified layers releases dissolved carbon dioxide (CO₂). The lake's bottom also contains methane (CH₄), meaning if a limnic eruption occurs, the lives of the two million people living nearby would be in danger.