The Kazinga Channel in 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...

 is a wide, 32 km long natural channel that links Lake Edward

Lake Edward

Lake Edward or Edward Nyanza is the smallest of the African Great Lakes. It is located in the western Great Rift Valley, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, with its northern shore a few kilometres south of the Equator...

 and Lake George

Lake George (Uganda)

Lake George or Lake Dweru is a lake in Uganda. It covers a total surface area of 250 km² and is a part of Africa's Great Lakes system but is not itself considered one of the Great Lakes. Like the other lakes in the region it was named after a member of the British royal family, in this case...

, and a dominant feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park

-Location:The national park is located in western Uganda, spanning the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Bushenyi and Rukungiri. Its location is approximately , by road, southwest of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The town of Kasese lies just outside the northeastern edge of the park,...

. The channel attracts a varied range of animals and birds, with one of the worlds largest concentration of hippos

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...

 and numerous Nile crocodile

Nile crocodile

The Nile crocodile or Common crocodile is an African crocodile which is common in Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon, South Africa, Malawi, Sudan, Botswana, and Cameroon...

s.

Lake George is a small lake with an average depth of only 2.4 m and which is fed by streams from the Rwenzori mountains. Its outflow is through the Kazinga Channel which drains into Lake Edward, water levels fluctuating very little.

In 2005, large numbers of hippos were killed in the channel as a result of an anthrax

Anthrax

Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...

outbreak, which occurs when animals eat remnants of vegetation in the driest months, absorbing bacterial spores that can live for decades in dry soil.

External links

• Anthrax Kills 18 Hippos in Ugandan National Park
• Strolling Guides - Kazinga Channel Some photographs and information.