As I sat down to write this, a low rumble started and our duplex starting to make small scratching noises. You hear the earthquakes more than feel them here, which is fine with us, although one woke me up the other night in a little bit of a panic. The reason for the dynamism is that we’re close to the Western Rift Valley, part of the East African Rift that bisects around Uganda, created by tectonic plates pulling apart. In addition to the earthquakes and volcanoes this produces, there are other spectacular features on the landscape- notable the Rwenzori Mountains to our west, along the border with DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and the “Crater Lakes”.
Crater lakes are formed when explosive eruptions of gases blow off the rocks at the surface of volcanoes leaving a shallow circular depression. These depressions are filled with water to form lakes that pockmark the land, sort of like the Carolina bays (without the wind/asteroid assistance). We’ve visited two crater lakes near us- they are popular places for lodges overlooking the water, and some of them are clean enough for swimming (and hippo free!). Although we try not to think about how steep the slopes around the lake are and what that means for the depth of the lake (100+ meters!). It’s more fun to watch kingfishers and vervet monkeys while treading water or floating on your back.
Crater lakes are formed when explosive eruptions of gases blow off the rocks at the surface of volcanoes leaving a shallow circular depression. These depressions are filled with water to form lakes that pockmark the land, sort of like the Carolina bays (without the wind/asteroid assistance). We’ve visited two crater lakes near us- they are popular places for lodges overlooking the water, and some of them are clean enough for swimming (and hippo free!). Although we try not to think about how steep the slopes around the lake are and what that means for the depth of the lake (100+ meters!). It’s more fun to watch kingfishers and vervet monkeys while treading water or floating on your back.