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off a swampy inlet containing the
Chimbwe Pools and a lagoon called Lake Cheshi. However at various times in the recent past it has been reported to be not a lake but a swamp with hardly any open water surface, and even to be a plain of dried out mud (littered with fish scales and bones, and the skeletons of dead crocodiles and hippos). These variations in open water surface occur not just within a single dry and rainy season cycle, but over years or decades. For instance it was reported as being a lake in 1890, 1897, 1911, 1919 and 1938, but a swamp in 1892, 1900–11, 1912–19, and 1922; and as having dried out around 1916. Its greatest depth has been reported as 5 m, but at times may be less than 1 m deep over most of its surface.
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Around 2005, Lake Mweru
Wantipa's main north-east to south-west axis was about 65 km long and it was about 20 km wide, but a narrow branch extends roughly 30 km east from the northern end, giving a surface area of about 1500 km². In the south-east at Kampinda, a peninsula divides
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Lake Mweru
Wantipa's fishery has been productive in the past but has been depleted in recent years. The lake supports a large population of hippopotamus and crocodiles. Except for birds and waterfowl, the wildlife on land and in the marshes, once extensive, has been reduced despite the existence of
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While rainfall is the main factor, this may not be the complete story. Blockage of the Mofwe and of the rivers draining into Mweru
Wantipa by papyrus and the growth of rushes may be part of the answer. It may also be that the effects of dry years may be delayed for a few years by the release of
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to Lake
Tanganyika. There are some hot springs characteristics of a rift valley to the east. Its water is muddy in appearance, at times appearing reddish and 'slightly oily'. In the local dialect "wa ntipa" means "with mud", hence "Mweru Wantipa" distinguishes it from its bigger neighbour,
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which were not entirely explained by variation in rainfall levels; it has been known to dry out almost completely. This is compounded by its remoteness and it not receiving the same attention from geographers and geologists as its larger and more accessible neighbours,
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At one time the principal road serving the lake was the one from
Mporokoso to its south-east shore where there was a ferry at Bulaya, but that has deteriorated and now the main highway is the one from Lake Mweru along the western and northern shores to Kaputa.
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Rivers and streams, none very large, flow into Lake Mweru
Wantipa and its swamps from the Mporokoso plateau about 32 km south, and the hills to the north-east in DR Congo. It was thought to drain via its south-western swamps and a
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border on its northern side and wars and conflicts in that country have caused many thousands of refugees to enter the district at Kaputa, putting pressure on resources. Most of the refugees have been moved to camps in
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Chansa Chomba; Ramadhani
Senzota, Harry Chabwela; Vincent Nyirenda (2005). "HISTORICAL CHANGES IN THE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF THE LAKE MWERU WA NTIPA WETLAND ECOSYSTEM OVER THE LAST 150 YEARS: A DRYING LAKE?".
351:. The park lies mainly on the lake's western shore but covers the lake surface, much of the marshes and part of the southern shore. The lake is only a few kilometres from the
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The muddy colour of the shallow lake, centre, contrasts with the very deep and dark blue Lake
Tanganyika (right) and the not-so-deep, greenish Lake Mweru (left).
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The salinity also shows long term variation, it was reported as being freshwater in 1929 and 1939, but saline in 1949.
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Terracarta: "Zambia 1:1,500,000 Second
Edition", International Travel Maps, Vancouver, 2000
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NASA image provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.
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Camerapix: "Spectrum Guide to Zambia", Camerapix International Publishers, Nairobi, 1996
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groundwater from surrounding hills into dambos which flow into the lake.
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Bradt Travel Guide to Zambia, website accessed 5 February 2007
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http://www.zambia-travel-guide.com/bradt_guide.asp?bradt=1386
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The main centre of population on the lake is the town of
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meaning "muddy lake" (also called 'Mweru Marsh') is a
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414:W. V. Brelsford: “The Problem of Mweru-Wantipa”,
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342:Natural resources and environmental pressures
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458:Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa
333:Factors determining water level and salinity
198:1,500 km (580 sq mi) (2005)
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23:Lake and swamp system in northern Zambia
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543:Geography of Northern Province, Zambia
436:Google Earth accessed 5 February 2007
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364:districts before repatriation.
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208:2 m (6 ft 7 in)
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416:The Northern Rhodesia Journal
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553:Zambezian flooded grasslands
349:Mweru Wantipa National Park
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313:called the Mofwe into the
224:932 m (3,058 ft)
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287:lying in a branch of the
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283:Lake Mweru Wantipa is a
16:Not to be confused with
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190:20 km (12 mi)
182:65 km (40 mi)
533:Ramsar sites in Zambia
368:Settlements and roads
216:5 m (16 ft)
418:, Vol 2, No 5 (1954)
304:Sources and drainage
291:, running from the
144: /
528:Lake Mweru Wantipa
245:Lake Mweru Wantipa
105:Show map of Africa
99:Lake Mweru Wantipa
75:Show map of Zambia
69:Lake Mweru Wantipa
29:Lake Mweru Wantipa
315:Kalungwishi River
289:East African Rift
261:Northern Province
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221:Surface elevation
119:Northern Province
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148:8.700°S 29.767°E
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195:Surface area
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321:Lake extent
233:Settlements
179:Max. length
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126:Coordinates
42:Source:NASA
522:Categories
384:References
298:Lake Mweru
278:Lake Mweru
213:Max. depth
200:dry (1916)
187:Max. width
18:Lake Mweru
362:Mporokoso
512:Wetlands
358:Kawambwa
353:DR Congo
269:salinity
115:Location
486:Portals
139:29°46′E
374:Kaputa
265:Zambia
237:Kaputa
170:Zambia
136:8°42′S
500:Lakes
311:dambo
257:swamp
165:Basin
360:and
347:the
255:and
253:lake
263:of
247:or
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401:^
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