The Cahora Bassa lake is southern Africa's second-largest artificial lake, situated in the Tete Province in Mozambique. The name Cabora Bassa is also often seen, as this was used during the colonial period.

The Cahora Bassa dam is one of three major dams on the Zambezi river system, the others being Kariba and Itezhi-Tezhi . The dam began to fill in December 1974 after construction was commenced in 1969. The lake has reached a maximum length and width of approximately 250 km and 38 km respectively, flooding an area of 2,700 km² with an average depth of 26 m.

Since closure Zambezi, which is the fourth largest floodplain river in Africa, has received a far more regulated flow rate. A considerable kapenta fishery has developed in the dam. The kapenta is assumed to originate from Lake Kariba where it was introduced from Lake Tanganyika. Annual catch of kapenta in the Cahora Bassa dam in 2003 exceeded 10 thousand tons.

See also

• Cabora-Bassa for details of the power scheme based on the dam.