Lake Edward is one of the sources of the Nile River. It lies in the Rift Valley of central Africa between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Most of the lake lies in the DRC. Lake Edward is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) long and 32 miles (51 kilometers) wide, and it covers 830 square miles (2,150 square kilometers). Fish life is abundant in the lake. The Semliki River flows north from Lake Edward into Lake Albert in a valley west of the Ruwenzori Range (see Lake Albert).
The explorer Henry M. Stanley reached the lake in 1889. He named it for the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Lake Edward’s original name was Albert Edward Nyanza. Nyanza means lake in the Bantu language.
