Lake Victoria sits as the largest lake on the African continent. It encompasses a surface area of 23,146 sq mi or 59,947 sq km. Covering this vast space, the lake is also the world’s biggest tropical lake. It seconds Lake Superior’s size when it comes to the largest freshwater lakes in the world. The lake receives most of its water from rainfall with only one outlet through the Nile River. It was named after Queen Victoria by explorer John Hanning Speke, the first man to document the lake in 1858. With a volume of 2,424 cubic kilometers and a maximum depth of 276 feet or 84 meters, Lake Victoria holds the ninth spot as the largest lake in the world by volume. It touches three African countries, namely Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

2. Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is the longest freshwater lake in the world. It is located between Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, although most of the lake is situated in Burundi and Tanzania. It is the second largest lake by volume, second deepest, and second oldest. In all cases, only Lake Baikal in Russia is larger.

Contained on either side by the Great Rift Valley and surrounding mountains, Lake Tanganyika is exceptionally deep.

Lake Tanganyika holds 4,500 cubic miles of water and covers an area of 12,700 square miles. Its deepest point is 4,820 feet, while its average depth is 1,870 feet.

3. Lake Nyassa

Similar to Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa is part of the African Great Lakes system. Bordered by Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique, it's the third-largest lake in the East African Rift Valley system.

The Nyasa or Malawi beaches are magnificent tourist attractions, whereas Tanzania beaches such as Matema Beach are less developed.

4. Lake Chad

Lake Chad is a desert lake and is bordered by the Sahara Desert. It is an important water source for the people living in the area. It’s surrounded by four countries including Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria.

It’s a very shallow lake and, depending on drought conditions, it can vary widely in size. The lake experiences very high levels of evaporation. Due to this high rate of evaporation, the shores are primarily marshlands.

5. Lake Turkana

Formerly known as Lake Rudolf, Lake Turkana is located in the Kenyan Rift Valley in Kenya and crosses into Ethiopia at its northern end. Lake Turkana has a total surface area of 2,473 sq mi or 6,405 sq km, making it the world’s largest permanent desert lake and the world’s largest alkaline lake. It is nicknamed the “Jade Sea” because of its stunning turquoise color. As a desert lake and an alkaline lake, Lake Turkana is generally shallow and salty due to its high concentration of dissolved salt minerals. Lake Turkana also holds the number 4 spot on the largest salt lakes in the world by water volume.

6. Lake Albert

Lake Albert is located between Uganda and Congo. It has a surface area of 2,000 square miles and has a capacity of 32 cubic miles of water. Its average depth is 82 feet, while its deepest point is 167 feet. It is approximately 100 miles long and 19 miles wide. Its primary source of water is the Victoria Nile.