Lake Bunyonyi
Location
South-western Uganda
Coordinates1°17′S 29°55′E / 1.283°S 29.917°E / -1.283; 29.917Coordinates: 1°17′S 29°55′E / 1.283°S 29.917°E / -1.283; 29.917
Basin countriesUganda
Max. length25 km (16 mi)
Max. width7 km (4.3 mi)
Max. depthca. 44–900 m (144–2,953 ft) ?
Surface elevation1,962 m (6,437 ft)
Rivers and lakes of Uganda. Bunyonyi is the relatively small lake in the far south-western corner of the country, just opposite the (on this map) similar-sized Lake Burera in Rwanda.
Lake Bunyonyi ("Place of many little birds") is in south-western Uganda between Kisoro and Kabale, and it is close to the border with Rwanda The lake appears on the 5,000 Ugandan shilling note under the title "Lake Bunyonyi and terraces".
Towns on its shores include Kyevu and Muko, while its 29 islands include Punishment Island and Bushara Island.
Geography
Lake Bunyonyi is a body of water 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of Kabale town.[citation needed]
Main islands[edit]
Akampene (Punishment Island)
Punishment Island in Lake Bunyonyi
The Bakiga used to leave unmarried pregnant girls on this small island with - to die of hunger or while trying to swim to the mainland (swimming skills were rare). This was to intimidate the rest, to show them not to do the same. A man without cows to pay the bride price could go to the island and pick up a girl. The practice got abandoned in the first half of the 20th century.
