A variety of factors combine to make Lake Tanganyika an exceptionally rich and interesting ecosystem. The following sections show the geological, physiographic, biological, and socio-political framework and context of Lake Tanganyika. Located between latitudes 03º20' and 08º48' South and the longitudes 29º03' and 31º12' East, Lake Tanganyika is a stretched lake. Measuring 673 km at its main axis, Lake Tanganyika is the longest in the world, and is between 12 and 90 km wide with a coastal perimeter of 1,838 km (statistics by Hanek et al. 1993).