Lake Kariba - wikipedia Lake Kariba Lake Kariba Coordinates 16 ° 55 ′ S 28 ° 00 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 16.917 ° S 28.000 ° E ﻿ / - 16.917 ; 28.000 Coordinates : 16 ° 55 ′ S 28 ° 00 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 16.917 ° S 28.000 ° E ﻿ / - 16.917 ; 28.000 Lake type Hydroelectric reservoir Catchment area 663,000 km ( 256,000 sq mi ) Basin countries Zimbabwe, Zambia Max. length 223 km ( 139 mi ) Max. width 40 km ( 25 mi ) Surface area 5,580 km ( 2,150 sq mi ) Average depth 29 m ( 95 ft ) Max. depth 97 m ( 318 ft ) Water volume 180 cubic kilometres ( 43 cu mi ) Surface elevation 485 metres ( 1,591 ft ) Islands Chete Island Sekula Chikanka. Lake Kariba is the world 's largest man - made lake and reservoir by volume. It lies 1300 kilometres upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Kariba Dam at its northeastern end, flooding the Kariba Gorge on the Zambezi River. The Zimbabwean town of Kariba was built for construction workers on the lake 's dam, while some other settlements such as Binga village and Mlibizi in Zimbabwe and Siavonga and Sinazongwe in Zambia have grown up to house people displaced by the rising waters. Contents 1 Physical characteristics 2 Ecology 3 Protected areas 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Physical characteristics Lake Kariba is over 223 kilometres ( 139 miles ) long and up to 40 kilometres ( 25 miles ) in width. It covers an area of 5,580 square kilometres ( 6.01 × 10 square feet ) mi ) and its storage capacity is 185 cubic kilometres ( 44 cubic miles ). The mean depth of the lake is 29 metres ( 95 feet ) ; the maximum depth is 97 metres ( 318 feet ). It is the world 's largest man - made reservoir, four times as large as the Three Gorges Dam. The enormous mass of water ( approximately 180,000,000,000,000 kilograms, or 180 petagrams ( 200 billion tons ) ) is believed to have caused induced seismicity in the seismically active region, including over 20 earthquakes of greater than 5 magnitude on the Richter scale. The lake has several islands, including Maaze Island, Mashape Island, Chete Island, Sekula, Sampa Karuma, Fothergill, Spurwing, Snake Island, Antelope Island, Bed Island, and Chikanka. Ecology Kariba Dam Before Lake Kariba was filled, the existing vegetation was burned, creating a thick layer of fertile soil on land that would become the lake bed. As a result, the ecology of Lake Kariba is vibrant. A number of fish species have been introduced to the lake, notably the sardine - like kapenta ( transported from Lake Tanganyika ), which now supports a thriving commercial fishery. Other inhabitants of Lake Kariba include Nile crocodiles and hippopotami. Gamefish, particularly tigerfish, which was among the indigenous species of the Zambezi river system, now thrive on the kapenta, which in turn encourages tourism. Both Zambia and Zimbabwe are now attempting to develop the tourism industry along their respective coasts of Lake Kariba. Fish eagles, cormorants and other water birds patrol the shorelines, as do occasional herds of elephants. Protected areas The portion of Lake Kariba which falls within Zimbabwe has been designated a Recreational Park within the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Estate. See also Nyaminyami Kariba Town Kariba Ferries Lake Volta, the largest reservoir by surface area in the world References Jump up ^ `` Kariba ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007 - 07 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Evidence for Incipient Rifting in Southern Africa ''. Geophysical Journal International. Retrieved 2007 - 07 - 31. External links `` Lake Kariba ''. Zambiatourism.com. Retrieved August 11, 2005. `` Dam Statistics : Africa and the Middle East Regions ''. World Commission on Dams. Retrieved August 11, 2005. `` Lake Profile : Kariba ''. LakeNet. Retrieved August 11, 2005. World Lakes Database entry for Lake Kariba Media related to Lake Kariba at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lake_Kariba&oldid=815597210 '' Categories : Lake Kariba Reservoirs in Zambia Reservoirs in Zimbabwe Zambezi River International lakes of Africa Geography of Mashonaland West Province Geography of Southern Province, Zambia Zambia -- Zimbabwe border Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Català Čeština Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français हिन्दी Hrvatski Italiano ქართული Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 December 2017, at 20 : 48. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where is the world's largest man made lake
Answer: 1300 kilometres upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe