Koome Island
Encyclopedia
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. The correct spelling that matches the phonetic pronunciation is with two "O"s.
Location
Koome Island is located in Mukono districtMukono District
Mukono District is a district in Central Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' - Mukono.-Location:Mukono District is bordered by Kayunga District to the north, Buikwe District to the east, the Republic of Tanzania to the south, Kalangala District to the...
, in northwestern Lake Victoria, in Central Uganda
Central Region, Uganda
Central Region is a region of Uganda. It is coterminous with the Kingdom of Buganda, one of the ancient African monarchies that are constitutionally recognised in Uganda. It is divided into the following districts:...
. It is one of the eighty-four (84) islands in the Ssese Islands
Ssese Islands
The Ssese Islands are an archipelago of eighty-four islands in the northwestern part of Lake Victoria in Uganda. The islands are coterminous with the Kalangala District in southern Central Uganda, which does not have any territory on mainland Uganda....
archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
and constitute Kalangala District
Kalangala District
Kalangala is a district in southern Central Uganda. The district is coterminous with the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria and does not have territory on mainland Uganda...
. The islands lie in two main groups, the northeastern group and the southwestern group, separated by the Koome Channel. Koome is the largest island in the northeastern group. Other islands in the same group include: Damba Island, Luwaji Island, Ngamba-Chimpanzee Island, Bulago Island, Kayaga Island and others. This location lies approximately 63 kilometres (39.1 mi), by water, northeast of Kalangala
Kalangala
Kalangala is the 'chief town' of Kalangala District in Central Uganda. It is the location of the headquarters of Kalangala District. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
, where the district headquarters are located. Koome also lies approximately 35 kilometres (21.7 mi), by water, southeast of Entebbe
Entebbe
Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
, the nearest large town.
The coordinates of Koome Island are:00 05 06S, 32 45 00E (Latitude:-0.0850; Longitude:32.7500).
Urban areas
The largest urban area on the island is called Bugombe, located on the northwestern shore of the island. There is a health center on the island, Koome Health Center III, not far from Bugombe. In February 2011, PostBank UgandaPostBank Uganda
PostBank Uganda is a non-bank credit institution in Uganda. As of May 2010, PostBank Uganda was a small credit institution whose asset base was estimated at about US$39 million.-History:...
announced that they will soon open a brick and mortar branch on Koome Island.
Economic activities
The principal economic activity on Koome, as is the case with most adjacent islands in the Ssese Islands is fishingFishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. Nile Perch
Nile perch
The Nile perch is a species of freshwaterfish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is widespread throughout muchof the Afrotropic ecozone, being native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger, and Lake Chad, Volta, Lake Turkana and other river basins. It also occurs in the brackish waters of...
is the species primarily fished, with most of the catch processed on the mainland for export. Overfishing is a concern. Other economic activities include agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, both crop
Crop
Crop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...
and animal husbandry, logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
See also
- Ssese IslandsSsese IslandsThe Ssese Islands are an archipelago of eighty-four islands in the northwestern part of Lake Victoria in Uganda. The islands are coterminous with the Kalangala District in southern Central Uganda, which does not have any territory on mainland Uganda....
- Kalangala DistrictKalangala DistrictKalangala is a district in southern Central Uganda. The district is coterminous with the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria and does not have territory on mainland Uganda...
- Lake VictoriaLake VictoriaLake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
- Central Region, UgandaCentral Region, UgandaCentral Region is a region of Uganda. It is coterminous with the Kingdom of Buganda, one of the ancient African monarchies that are constitutionally recognised in Uganda. It is divided into the following districts:...