Lake Mutanda
Encyclopedia
Location
The lake is located in Kisoro DistrictKisoro District
Kisoro District is a district in Western Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Kisoro, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
in southwestern Uganda, approximately 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) north of the town of Kisoro
Kisoro
Kisoro is a town in Western Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Kisoro District and the district headquarters are located there. The district was named after the town.-Location:...
, where the district headquarters are located. This location is approximately 454 kilometres (282.1 mi), by road, southwest of Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, Uganda's capital and largest city. The coordinates of Lake Mutanda are:01 14 06S, 29 40 12E (Latitude:-1.2350; Longitude:29.6700).
Overview
It is nestled in the foothills of the Virunga Mountain RangeVirunga Mountains
The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. They are located between Lake Edward and Lake Kivu...
, at an altitude of 1800 metres (5,905.5 ft). The three volcanoes within the range, that are partly located in Uganda, namely: Mount Muhabura
Mount Muhabura
Mount Muhabura, also known as Mount Muhavura, is an extinct volcano in the Virunga Mountains on the border between Rwanda and Uganda. At 4,127 m, Muhabura is the third highest of the eight major mountains of the mountain range, which is a part of the East African Rift Valley. Muhabura lies partly...
, Mount Sabinyo and Mount Gahinga
Mount Gahinga
Mount Gahinga, is a dormant/extinct volcano in the Virunga Mountains on the border between Rwanda and Uganda. Gahinga lies between Muhabura and Sabyinyo, but is the smallest of these three. The Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is named after the mountain, and tourists can climb Gahinga from that side....
, can be viewed from Lake Mutanda. There are several islands in the lake.
Flora and fauna
The environment on the islands within the lake and the surrounding countryside includes lakeside forests and wetland habitats that provide a haven for the endangered Mountain GorillaMountain Gorilla
The Mountain Gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic...
.
In addition to the mountain gorilla and golden monkey in the nearby Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a national park in the far south-west of Uganda near the town of Kisoro.-Location:The park is located in the Virunga Mountains and is contiguous with the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, the lakeside environment accommodates a variety of animal and plant species, unique to this area. Bird species include kingfisher birds
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
, kite
Kite
A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind...
s, ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
and Uganda's national bird, the Crested Crane. Weaver bird nests are a common site among the reeds along the lake shore.
In addition to the abundant and varied avian species, the lake shore supports several species of snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
, chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
, monitor lizard
Monitor lizard
Monitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...
and frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
species. There is a varied and abundant supply of insect life as well. The mammals unique to Lake Mutanda include the African clawless otter
African Clawless Otter
The African clawless otter , also known as the cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second largest freshwater species of otter. African clawless otters are found near permanent bodies of water in savannah and lowland forest areas...
. Hippopotamus was endemic to the area, but were last sighted at Lake Mutanda in 1994.