Kivu, Lake

Lake in the Great Rift Valley on the borders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, north of Lake Tanganyika, to which it is linked by the Ruzizi River; area 2,699 sq km/1,042 sq mi; length about 105 km/65 mi. The chief port of the lake is Bukavu.

At 1,472 m/4,829 ft Kivu is the highest lake in Africa. It is situated among mountains of 2,750 m/9,022 ft, of which the Ninagongo and Namlagira are still active volcanoes. The towns of Bukavu, Kisenyi, and Goma are on its shores. Lake Kivu gives its name to an administrative district of the Democratic Republic of Congo.