• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2001 baseline)
This rather shallow lake occupies a depression along the Wembere river, at the extreme western end of the Mbulu Highlands and north of the small town of Sekenke, where the seasonal Manonga river flows in from the west. At high water the eastern edge of the lake abuts the foothills of the highlands, which rise to 1,587 m within a few kilometres of the lake. To the north, the lake overflows into the Sibiti river which enters Lake Eyasi (TZ023), 35 km to the north-east. The eastern shoreline shelves very gently with shallow water, exposed mud and short vegetation. There are stands of Aeschynomene, the extent of which is unclear. Belts of dense sedge that skirt the eastern shoreline are used for thatching and grazing and are extensively burnt each dry season. No information is available for the western side of the lake.

Key biodiversity
See Box for key species. The eastern shoreline is favoured by waterbirds with Glareola pratincola, Limosa limosa (>2,700), Philomachus pugnax, Calidris minuta, Plectropterus gambensis (>2,400), Phoenicopterus minor and Balearica regulorum (>100) amongst species recorded in 1995. Thousands of Riparia riparia and tens of thousands of Hirundo rustica feed along the foothills and over the lake shore. Discussions with local fishermen have indicated the presence of a large, mixed-species heronry in most years.

Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Kitangire (Tanzania). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-kitangire-iba-tanzania on 23/11/2024.