{{Short description|Lake in Northern Region, Uganda}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Lake Kwania | image = Kyoga Lake Complex OSM.jpg | image_size = 300px | caption = Kyoga Lake Complex with the Kwania (top left) | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = |pushpin_map=Uganda | location = Apac, Amolatar & Lira districts | coords = {{Coord|1|43|N|32|42|E|region:UG_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} | type = | inflow = Adip and Abalang rivers | outflow = Victoria Nile | catchment = | basin_countries = Uganda | length = {{convert|66|km|mi}} | width = | area = {{convert|540|km2|mi2}} | depth = {{convert|4|m|ft}} | max-depth = {{convert|5.4|m|ft}} | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = {{convert|1033|m|ft}} | islands = | cities = Apac, Lira | frozen = | reference= <ref name="Ramsar">{{cite web|title=Uganda Wetlands|publisher=Ramsar|url=http://ramsar.wetlands.org/Portals/15/UGANDA.pdf|format=PDF|pages=3–7|year=1982|accessdate=17 January 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506220833/http://ramsar.wetlands.org/Portals/15/UGANDA.pdf|archivedate=6 May 2012}}</ref> }} '''Lake Kwania''' is in the districts of Lira, Apac and Amolatar in the Northern Region of Uganda.<ref>{{cite web|title=Administrative Map of Uganda|url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/uganda-administrative-map.htm|publisher=One World Nations Online|accessdate=17 January 2013}}</ref> It is part of a large wetland along the White Nile (Victoria Nile) between Lake Victoria and Lake Albert. The wetland, which includes Lake Kwania, the even larger Lake Kyoga, and other water bodies and swamps, consists of about {{convert|3420|km2|mi2}} of open water and about {{convert|2180|km2|mi2}} of permanent swamps. Of this total, Lake Kwania accounts for {{convert|540|km2|mi2}}, about 16 percent, of the open water.<ref name="Ramsar"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Victoria Nile {{!}} Uganda, Map, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Victoria-Nile |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
alt=Kwania lake|thumb|Photo of Kwania Lake
The lake is heavily fished for Nile tilapia and Nile perch, introduced species that caused declines in native fish populations after the mid-1950s. By the late 1960s, the introduced species made up about 80 percent of the commercial catch from Lake Kyoga, Kwania's near neighbor. Although civil unrest, overfishing, and infestations of water hyacinth (later brought under control) at times curtailed the fishing, by the mid-1990s Lake Kwania had 34 landing sites and a fleet of about 1,500 planked canoes operated by about 4,500 fishers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Information on Fisheries Management in the Republic of Uganda: Lake Kyoga Complex|url=http://www.fao.org/fi/oldsite/FCP/en/UGA/body.htm|year=2003|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|accessdate=17 January 2013|archive-date=22 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622131810/http://www.fao.org/fi/oldsite/FCP/en/uga/body.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lake Kwania {{!}} Kwania District Local Government |url=https://kwania.go.ug/opportunites/lake-kwania |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=kwania.go.ug}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Water hyacinth invades Lake Kwania |url=https://www.newvision.co.ug/articledetails/undefined |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=New Vision |language=en}}</ref>
==Flora and fauna== Beds of papyrus circle the lakes and dominate the surrounding swamps. Sections of these beds drift from shore and become floating islands. A variety of aquatic plants grow profusely around and in the lakes. Grasses and trees are found in parts of the watershed that are less often flooded.<ref name="Ramsar"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=GNF - Lake Kyoga |url=https://www.globalnature.org/35625/Living-Lakes/National-Networks/Network-East-Africa/Kyoga/resindex.aspx |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.globalnature.org |archive-date=2024-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521070219/https://www.globalnature.org/35625/Living-Lakes/National-Networks/Network-East-Africa/Kyoga/resindex.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-21 |title=Lake Kyoga - Lakes in Uganda {{!}} Uganda Tourist |url=https://www.ugandatourist.com/lakes/lake-kyoga/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2018-08-30 |title=The Shallow Lake Kyoga Of Uganda {{!}} Uganda Safaris |url=https://www.junglesafarisuganda.com/blog/the-shallow-lake-kyoga-of-uganda.html |access-date=2024-05-30 |language=en-US}}</ref>
Mammals that frequent the lake include the African clawless otter, marsh mongoose, hippopotamus, spotted-necked otter, and sitatunga (a swamp-dwelling antelope).<ref name="Ramsar"/> Crocodiles, hunted to near extinction near the lakes, are scarce.<ref name="Ramsar"/> In addition to the introduced fish—Nile perch and Nile tilapia—that dominate the lakes, native species including Victoria tilapia, also live in these waters.<ref name="Ramsar"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Lakes of Uganda}}
Kyoga Kyoga, Lake Category:Apac District Category:Lira District Category:Lakes of Uganda