The lake was 'discovered' in 1858 by the British explorer John Speke,  months after braving the dense forests and tropical diseases in his search for the source of the Nile river.

Lake Victoria is shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, named after Queen of England. Lake Victoria is the world's largest tropical lake and the second largest freshwater lake. Covers a total of 69,000 square kilometres, the lake is as large as Ireland, and lies in the Rift Valley of East Africa, a 3,500- mile system of deep cracks in the earth's crust running from the Red Sea south to Mozambique. Although this region of Africa is better known for its large cats and the herds of wildebeests, zebras and giraffes that roam the savannah plains, its most diverse and endangered ecosystems are to be found under water.