Lake Wamala
Encyclopedia
Location
The lake is located in the districts of MubendeMubende District
Mubende is a district in Central Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Mubende. Mubende District was reduced in size in July 2005 with the creation of Mityana District.-Location:...
, Mityana
Mityana District
Mityana District is a district in Central Uganda. The district was created in 2005, by taking the Mityana and Busujju counties from Mubende District...
and Mpigi
Mpigi District
Mpigi District is a district in Central Uganda. Like other most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Mpigi.-Location:...
in central 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 coordinates of Lake Wamala are:0.328333N, 31.8406E: (Latitude:00 19 42N, Longitude:31 50 26E).
Overview
Lake Wamala covers an area of approximately 250 square kilometre. It is dotted by many islands including Lwanju Island, Mabo Island, and Bagwe Island, Kiraza, Kazinga, among others. The lake is associated with several rivers and wetlands. Several rivers flow into the lake, including the following:- River Nyanzi
- River Kitenga
- River Kaabasuma
- River Mpamujugu
- River Bbimbye
River Kibimba drains westwards into Lake Victoria
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....
. On the other hand, River Katonga flows from Lake Victoria into Lake Wamala. This lake is of interest and immediate concern for Mubende District
Mubende District
Mubende is a district in Central Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Mubende. Mubende District was reduced in size in July 2005 with the creation of Mityana District.-Location:...
, Mityana District
Mityana District
Mityana District is a district in Central Uganda. The district was created in 2005, by taking the Mityana and Busujju counties from Mubende District...
and Mpigi District
Mpigi District
Mpigi District is a district in Central Uganda. Like other most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Mpigi.-Location:...
because parts of it lie in each of the three contagious administrative units 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:...
.
History
More than 4,000 years ago Lake Wamala was part of Lake VictoriaLake 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....
, but has since receded into its current state. One apocryphal myth supposes that Lake Wamala derives its name from the last King “Wamala” of the Bachwezi dynasty. According to this legend King Wamala disappeared into Lake Wamala at a site near Lubajja fishing village called Nakyegalika and his spirit resides in the lake. The lake is of traditional and cultural significance to the people of Buganda
Buganda
Buganda is a subnational kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Ganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda, comprising all of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala, with the exception of the disputed eastern Kayunga District...
in Central Uganda.
Flora and fauna
The vegetation surrounding Lake Wamala is dominated by papyrusPapyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
, other spectacular floaters and water based vegetation. There are also trees such as Raphia and other palms. There exist remnants of a variety of species such as sitatunga
Sitatunga
The situtunga or marshbuck is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout Central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and parts of Southern Sudan as well as in Ghana, Botswana, Zambia, Gabon, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.-Description:Situtunga stand about one and a...
, wild pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s, hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
, bush buck
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, waterbuck
Waterbuck
The Waterbuck is a large antelope found widely in Sub-Saharan Africa.Waterbuck stand at the shoulder. Males weigh and females . Their coats are reddish brown in colour and become progressively darker with age; they have a white 'bib' under their throats and white on their rumps...
, velvet monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
, baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
and a variety of birds such as guinea fowl and turaco
Turaco
The turacos make up the bird family Musophagidae , which includes plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. In southern Africa both turacos and go-away-birds are commonly known as louries. They are semi-zygodactylous - the fourth toe can be switched back and forth...
. A diversity of water based birds are visible in the remaining wetlands. Existing fish species include tilapia
Tilapia
Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...
, catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
and lungfish
Lungfish
Lungfish are freshwater fish belonging to the Subclass Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining characteristics primitive within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and structures primitive within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed...
. The lake lo longer has Hipos and Baboons (Source, District Fishereis Office, Mityana)