Шығыс Африка жарылыс аймағының көлдері

Group of lakes in the East African Rift

The Rift Valley lakes are a series of lakes in the East African Rift valley that runs through eastern Africa from Ethiopia in the north to Malawi in the south, and includes the African Great Lakes in the south. These include some of the world's oldest lakes, deepest lakes, largest lakes by area, and largest lakes by volume. Many are freshwater ecoregions of great biodiversity, while others are alkaline "soda lakes" supporting highly specialised organisms. The Rift Valley lakes are well known for the evolution of at least 800 cichlid fish species that live in their waters. More species are expected to be discovered. The World Wide Fund for Nature has designated these lakes as one of its Global 200 priority ecoregions for conservation.

Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika have formed in the various valleys of the East African Rift zone.

Lake Kivu's "still waters hide another face: dissolved within are billions of cubic meters of flammable methane and more still of carbon dioxide, the result of volcanic gases seeping in."

South of the Ethiopian highlands, the rift valley splits into two major troughs. The Eastern Rift is home to the Kenyan Rift Valley lakes, while most of the Central African Rift Valley lakes lie in the Western Rift. This area includes the Gregory Rift in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Southern Rift Valley lakes are like the Western Rift Valley lakes in that, with one exception, they are freshwater lakes. Lake Rukwa (about but quite variable) in Tanzania is the alkaline exception, lying south east of Tanganyika, and has no outlet. Lake Malawi (, elevation ), the second largest and second deepest of the Rift Valley lakes at over , is drained by the Shire River, a tributary of the Zambezi River. Also known as Lake Nyasa. Lake Malombe is on the Shire River. Lake Chilwa (, elevation ) has no outlet but extensive wetlands. It is the southernmost of the Rift Valley lakes.

Lake Mweru ( elevation 922 m) lies in the Lake Mweru Luapula graben, which is a branch off the Albertine rift. Lake Mweru Wantipa (, elevation ) is a marshy lake between lakes Tanganyika and Mweru, and is endorheic but may overflow into Lake Mweru at times of very high flood.