Lake · DR Congo
Lake Mai-Ndombe
Lake Mai-Ndombe is a large, shallow lake in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its name means 'black water', because its water is so dark.
Where is Lake Mai-Ndombe?
Countries on its shores: DR Congo.
Middle of the lake: 2.00° S, 18.33° E
The story behind it
Lake Mai-Ndombe has a ragged, irregular shape, and its size changes with the seasons. In the dry season it covers about 2 300 km², but in the rainy season it can grow to two or three times that size. The lake is shallow: about 5 metres deep on average and at most about 10 metres. Its dark water is acidic. Low shores covered with forest surround it. Until 1972 it was called Lake Leopold II, after a Belgian king. The Fimi River carries its water south, and in the end it reaches the great Congo River. More than 30 kinds of fish live in the lake, and some of them, such as small cichlids, live nowhere else in the world. Otters, crocodiles, turtles and many water birds live here too. The lake belongs to the largest protected wetland of its kind in the world. Boats travel on the lake, and fishers cast their nets.
Find it on the globe
Lake Mai-Ndombe 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 Mai-Ndombe?
In the dry season Lake Mai-Ndombe covers about 2 300 km². In the rainy season it can become two or three times as big.
Why is it called Mai-Ndombe?
Mai-Ndombe means 'black water' in a local language. The water of the lake is very dark and acidic.
Where does the water of Lake Mai-Ndombe go?
The Fimi River carries it south. In the end it flows into the Congo River.
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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