Lake · Malawi
Lake Chilwa
Lake Chilwa is a shallow lake in south-eastern Malawi, close to the border with Mozambique. After Lake Malawi it is the second-largest lake in the country, and its size changes greatly from year to year.
Picture credit: Wardtmar (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Felefuchs (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Lake Chilwa?
Countries on its shores: Malawi.
Middle of the lake: 15.30° S, 35.70° E
The story behind it
Lake Chilwa has no outlet. Rivers and rain bring water, and in the hot season much of it simply evaporates into the air. That is why the water level rises and falls with the seasons, and when the water is low, it becomes saltier. In very dry years the lake has even disappeared completely, for example in 1968 and in 1995. Around the open water lie wide swamps and marshes, and together they cover about 2 250 km². On average the lake is only 1 to 2 metres deep. Near the western shore lies Chisi Island. The lake is full of fish, and tens of thousands of people in hundreds of villages live from fishing. It provides about a fifth of all the fish caught in Malawi. Around 160 kinds of water birds live here. When the explorer David Livingstone came here in 1859, the lake was much bigger than it is today.
Find it on the globe
Lake Chilwa is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is Lake Chilwa?
Together with its swamps and marshes, Lake Chilwa covers about 2 250 km², but its size changes greatly with the water level. In October 2006 the open water covered only about 830 km².
Can Lake Chilwa dry up?
Yes. Because no river flows out, the lake depends on rain, and after very dry years it has disappeared completely, for example in 1968 and 1995. When the rains came back, the lake filled up again.
Why is Lake Chilwa important for Malawi?
It is one of the country's best fishing lakes and provides about a fifth of all the fish caught in Malawi. Its wetlands are also home to about 160 kinds of water birds.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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