Lake Burigi
Lake Burigi is an endorheic lake in the Karagwe district, Kagera Region of Tanzania. Parts of the lake and its shore are situated within the Burigi-Chato [National Park].
History
Visited by Dr. Hans Meyer's East African expedition, its name on maps of the time was Urigi. The lake's discovery is attributed to Capt. John Hanning Speke, who name it Lueor-lo-Urigi.Geography
The lake is long and wide. It has an elongated shape, the greatest distance between the two extremities being about . It is so narrow that from one side, the other can always clearly be seen. The lake's water is bright azure in color.Its area measures approximately. Fed by rivers from surrounding hills, the largest is Ruiza River. The lake is visible from Useni or Kavari. Papyrus swamps and groundwater forest areas occur around the lake. The surrounding hills are brown, with dark green bush scatterings. Its receding waters have left great extents of flat plain on the sides and around the bays running far inland into valleys. The lake is sunk about below the average level of the bare grassy hills around it. There is a narrow basin at the head of the lake. Its shore is broken by numerous inlets.
The Yanghiro district, which is situated on the eastern shore of the Urigi, is a hilly region, scattered over with villages and cultivated fields, as well as with woods of banana-trees.
The study area received an average rainfall of 964.36 mm per year, the highest peak recorded in 1951. The trend of rainfall showed that many years had rainfall below the average while the temperature was found to increase from year to year, the situation which suggests the existence of climate change in the study area.