It is mainly fed by the Luapula River, which comes in through swamps to the south of the lake, and to the north the lake is drained by the Luvua River, which leads to the Lualaba River and thence to the Congo. The lake has the Kilwa Island at its southern end.
The lake has long been isolated, but a tarred road was built to the lakeside village Nchelenge in 1987, and the population around the lake has grown, much of it exploiting the rich fishery of the lake.
