The large rift lakes of Africa are the ancient home of great biodiversity, and 10% of the world's fish species live in this region.

The Great Lakes region (rarely: Greater Lakes region) consists of ten riparian countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Increased contact with the rest of the world led to a series of devastating epidemics affecting both humans and livestock.

The Western Rift Valley lakes are freshwater and home to an extraordinary number of endemic species.

The East African rift system also serves as a flyway for migrating birds, bringing in hundreds more.

In some lakes, rapidly growing invasive plants, like the surface-choking water hyacinth and shore-clogging papyrus, are problems.

Until 12 million years ago, the bountiful waters of the equatorial plateau either flowed west into the Congo River system or east to the Indian Ocean.

A rift is a weak place in Earth's crust due to the separation of two tectonic plates, often accompanied by a graben, or trough, in which lake water can collect.

Around two to three million years ago, Lake Turkana was larger and the area more fertile, making it a center for early hominids.

Richard Leakey led numerous anthropological excavations in the area, which yielded many important discoveries of hominin remains.

With four Great Lakes on its borders, Uganda ranks as one of the world's largest producers of freshwater fish.