Victoria Nyanza
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Victoria Nyanza. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a great freshwater lake in east central Africa, situated on the equator; area, over 30,- 000 square miles. It lies about 3,880 feet above sea-level. The geological evidence points to the origin of its basin having taken place at a very remote period, a number of terrace-like faults along the W. shores suggesting a series of immense landslips as a probable cause of the formation of the hollow which now contains the lake. The traces of volcanic action do not seem sufficient to account for so large a depression. The prevailing rocks are gneiss and schists, with porphyritic granite at the S. extremity, and some lava and ironstone toward the N. The igneous area is, upon the whole, barren and desolate looking, the remainder of the basin being clothed with luxurious tropical flora, exceedingly varied in character. This variety is, perhaps, most strikingly exhibited on some of the islands. The fauna is also varied, the number of alligators frequenting the waters being very large. Hippopotami, though less frequently met with, are exceedingly fierce, and are held in great dread by the native boatmen. The water is good and fresh, though somewhat insipid to taste, and frequently assumes a dirty white color. The lake is drained by the Nile, and its chief feeders are the Kajera, the Nzoia, the Shimiyu, and the Katonga. The lake, whose native name is Ukerewe, was discovered by Speke in 1858, visited by him and Grant in 1861-1862, and subsequently partly explored by Stanley (1875), Mackay, Thomson, and others.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
. See Nyanza; Uganda ; Africa ; Nile
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's put the lake at "over 30,000 square miles"; modern survey gives about 26,600 square miles (68,800 sq km), still the largest lake in Africa, shared today by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, and its surface sits nearer 3,720 feet than the 3,880 given in 1921. The "alligators" of the account are Nile crocodiles, and the ecology described as "exceedingly varied" has been transformed: Nile perch, introduced in the 1950s and 60s, together with nutrient pollution, wiped out or drove to the brink scores of the lake's endemic cichlid species, while water hyacinth choked harbours from the late 1980s. The outflow into the Nile is now regulated by the dam built at Jinja in 1954, and Speke's 1858 "discovery" is today described as the first European sighting of a lake long known to those living on it.
Written for this edition, 2026.