Congo River

This exhibit features the world’s longest and second deepest freshwater lake: Lake Tanganyika. Africa’s oldest lake, it was formed millions of years ago by the same tectonic plate movements that created the Great Rift Valley. Home to hundreds of species found nowhere else, it is also one of the most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems.

This largest of Africa’s freshwater reservoirs feeds into the Congo Basin, providing food, water and income for the people living nearby. However, climate warming has reduced fish production, a phenomenon that is being seen in other tropical lakes too.