The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

248 SOTTTII AST) EAST AFRICA.name of Jlaravi, like the populations dwelling on its banks. At the same time thisMaravi, witli an alternative Nlianja Mucuro, figured on the maps of Africa underthe most diverse forms and outlines, being in some cases made to occupy nearlythe whole of the unknown regions of the interior. But all these vague guesseswere for ever swept away in the year 1859, when its true formation was firstrevealed to the outer world by Livingstone. Since that time it has been traversedin every direction by explorers, and Eurojiean settlements have even been foundedon its shores.Nyassa presents a striking resemblance to its Tanganyika neighbour. Bothbasins are disposed very much in the same direction, except that the axis ofNyassa approaches nearer to the line of the meridian ; both appear to fill the bedsof cracks in the crust of the earth, produced by the same pressure, but that ofXyassa stands at a lower altitude on the surface of the continent, being scarcelyfive hundred feet above sea-level.It also presents, like Tanganyika, the aspect ofa broad vallc)-, the sinuosities of whose sides mutually correspond, with, however,some deviations here and there. At its two narrowest parts it is only 14 or 15miles wide, while in other places it expands to 55 or 60 miles. Excluding thewindings of the shore-line, it has a total length of over five degrees of latitude, orabout 360 miles, with a superficial area, according to the most recent surveys, ofabout 12,000square miles,* and depths ranging from fifty to a hundred fathoms,and iipwards.Young found sixty-four and even ninety fathoms close to the eastside, while at any distance from the shore the sounding-line of a hundred fathomsalmost everywhere failed to touch the bottom.Towards its north-east extreniity the lake is dominated by a lofty range, withsteep rocky cliffs sinking sheer down to the water's edge. In some places thecascades, sparkling on the slopes like silvery streaks, mingle their spray with thefoam of the waves breaking on the rock-boimd coast. Shallows are rare, andexcept at a few points on the west side the explorer may sail for days togetherclose in shore without meeting any shelving beach or reed-grown shoals. Butsome of the bays and inlets are studded with islets which are visited by the hippopotamus,swimming over from the adjacent mainland.So pure are the waters ofNyassa that the sheathing of the vessels launched on its bosom by the Englishmissionaries remains perfectly clean for years together ; the boilers of the steamersare also almost entirely free from any trace of sediment.The fierce gales which sweep over the lake lash its surface waters intoformidable waves, compared by seafarers to the billows of the South Atlantic itself.Hence, although its shores present numerous creeks and inlets with good anchorage,especially under the shelter of the islands, the European navigators have often runimminent peril of foundering. But since the discovery of the easily accessibleestuary of the Bombash River, at its northern extremity, they are able to ventureon its waters with a greater feeling of security. About forty-eight houi's now* Comparative areas of the great African lakes and of the largest lacustrine basins in other continents:Victoria Nyanza, 26,000 square miles; Tanganyika, 15,000; Nyassa, 12,000; Lake Superior•(America), 33,000 ; Baikal (Asia), 14,000 Ladoga (Europe), 7,000.