2 minute read
Fun Facts
Tanzania Is Home To Some Of Africa’s Most Amazing Lakes:
For example, Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the world’s second-largest freshwater lake.
There Are More Languages Than In Any Other Country In East Africa
: Tanzania has over 100. An even better fact about Tanzania is that it doesn’t have an official language (probably because it has so many). It’s a multilingual country, but Swahili is like a lingua franca. Around 10% speak Swahili as their first language, but about 90% speak it as a second.
Everyone we’ve met spoke English too!
Tanzania Has Stunning Islands:
There are the islands of Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast. That’s where you will find the Zanzibar Archipelago. The main island, known as Zanzibar, is called Unguja. There’s also the historic Mafia Island. You will have to remind yourself you are in Africa when visiting Zanzibar. Feel like you are somewhere in tropics! But away from the sea, Zanzibar hosts some pretty cool islands like Ukerewe. This is the largest lake-based island not only in Lake Victoria but in the whole of Africa!
Tanzania Is Home To Africa’s Highest And Lowest Points:
Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the most prominent ones in the world, is 19,341 feet above sea level, the highest point in Africa. Now it’s time for the lowest. The floor of Lake Tanganyika, Africa’s deepest, stretches down – 1,155 feet below sea level.
Freddie Mercury Was Born In Tanzania:
One of Tanzania’s most famous sons is none other than Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. He was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar to Parsi Indian parents. Fleeing the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, teenage Freddie and his parents found themselves in Middlesex. The rest is history.
Almost 40 Percent Of The Country Is Protected For Conservation:
The most famous areas are the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation areas, but there’s also Ruaha, The Selous, Gombe Stream National Park, and many more, which makes Tanzania an ideal destination for all kinds of safaris.
The Ngorongoro Crater Is The Largest Of Its Kind In The World:
The Ngorongoro Crater holds the record as the biggest extinct caldera in the world. It is 12 miles in diameter, 102 miles square, and makes up most of the eponymous Ngorongoro National Park. Today, the crater is lush, grassy, and inhabited by rhinos, leopards, zebra, warthogs, and a host of other whos-who of the savannah landscape. It is one of the most fascinating sights to witness in Africa.
Lake Olduvai Has Human Fossils From A Couple Of Millions Of Years Ago:
This is one of the most interesting facts about Tanzania. One of Tanzania’s (many) beautiful lakes was where some pretty old human remains were found. Humanoid bones discovered here –namely, the Australopithecus – date back millions and millions of years. The world’s oldest known human skull was also found nearby in Olduvai Gorge. It was all pretty straightforward until traders from Persia, India, and Arabia moved in.
