Lake
Victoria, which lies between Uganda, Kenya
and Tanzania is considered to be the source
of the Nile, although the lake itself
has feeder rivers of considerable size
from the other Great Lakes of Africa.
In particular, the farthest headstream
of the Nile is the Ruvyironza River in
Burundi, which is an upper branch of the
Kagera River. The Kagera flows for 690
km (429 miles) before reaching Lake Victoria.
Leaving Lake Victoria, the river is known
as the Victoria Nile. It flows further
for approximately 500 km (300 miles),
through Lake Kyoga, until it reaches Lake
Albert. After leaving Lake Albert, the
river is known as the Albert Nile. It
then flows into Sudan, where it becomes
known as the Bahr al Jabal. At the confluence
of the Bahr al Jabal with the Bahr el
Ghazal, itself 720 km (445 miles) long,
the river becomes known as the Bahr al
Abyad, or the White Nile, from the clay
suspended in its waters.
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