Lake Chiuta is a shallow lake on the border between Malawi and Mozambique. It lies to the north of Lake Chilwa and to the south of Lake Amaramba, which has no outlet, and the lakes are separated by a sandy ridge. Both lakes lie in a graben which runs northeast-southwest, east of the main African Rift Valley.
Lake Chiuta is 3-4 meters deep and ranges in size from 25 to 130 square kilometers, depending on the season and rainfall. Lake Chiuta and Amaramba is intermittently linked to the Lujenda River, a tributary of the Ruvuma River.
Mean Depth: 1.13 m / average surface area: 199 km² / average volume: 0.225 km³ / encatchment area: 1755 km² (Ojda 1994)
Lake Chiuta can dessicate completely (Owen et al. 198?)
Predominant commercial fish species: Oreochromis shiranus shiranus (Chambo), Clarias griepinus (Mlamba), Barbus paludinosus (Matemba) / 37 fish species recorded in total (Ojda 1994)
Famous quotes containing the word lake:
“Such were the first rude beginnings of a town. They spoke of the practicability of a winter road to the Moosehead Carry, which would not cost much, and would connect them with steam and staging and all the busy world. I almost doubted if the lake would be there,—the self-same lake,—preserve its form and identity, when the shores should be cleared and settled; as if these lakes and streams which explorers report never awaited the advent of the citizen.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)