252
ALBERT
N Y A N ZA—ALBRECHT
Gustavus of Yasa, and grand-daughter of the last king of Sweden of the house of Holstein. (j. w. he,) Albert Nyanza and Albert Edward Nyanza, the two western reservoirs of the White Nile, lying north and south in the great Central African riftvalley, near its north end. When the northern lake, Albert Nyanza, was first reached by Sir Samuel Baker, it was thought to extend southwards far beyond the equator —farther, in fact, than the southern end of Albert Edward Lake, which does not reach to 1° S. In 1875 Stanley reached the arm of a lake, situated on the equator, which he thought to be Albert Nyanza, but which the voyages of Gessi and Mason on the latter lake in 1876 and 1877 proved to be distinct. The true position and form of Albert Edward Nyanza were made known by Stanley’s journey of 1888-89, while its contours have since been determined with greater exactness by Stuhlmann (1891) and Grogan and Moore (1899). The lake, which lies at an altitude of about 3200 feet, is roughly elliptical in outline, with a length of 50 miles and maximum breadth of about 30 miles, the area approximating to 1000 square miles. The arm above alluded to is practically an independent lake (Ruisamba) running to the north-east and connected by a narrow channel with the main lake. A swampy plain, traversed by the Ruchuru and other streams, extends to the south of the lake, and must once have been covered by its waters. On the east a wide space intervenes between the eastern wall of the rift-valley and the present shore of the lake, two distinct terraces being clearly defined. The vegetation (Euphorbias, &c.) on the lower of these is of small size and seems to be of recent origin. Near the lake, pits of fire and huge jets of smoke still testify to the presence of volcanic activity. On the west the wall of the riftvalley runs close to the lake, but on the north a barren level plain comes between the lake and the southern spurs of the Ruwenzori range. On this plain, separated by a narrow neck of land from Lake Albert Edward, is a craterlike depression occupied by a shallow salt lake. The salt, which has a reddish tint, is exported to great distances. The main feeder of Lake Albert Edward, the Ruchuru, rises on the north side of the volcanoes north of Lake Kivu (q.v.). On reaching the level plain 15 miles from the lake its waters become brackish, and the vegetation on its banks is scanty. The reedy marshes near its mouth form a retreat for a primitive race of fishermen. Lake Ruisamba, the shores of which are generally high, is fed by streams from the east of Mount Ruwenzori. At the north-west corner of the larger lake issues the Isango or Semliki, at first a small stream, but gradually increased to a large river by streams from the Ruwenzori range on the eastern side of the rift-valley. Before entering Albert Nyanza, in 1° 5' N., it traverses a plain once covered by the latter lake, forming marshes inhabited by another tribe of fishermen, the Wanyabuga. The shores of Lake Albert Edward are partitioned between British East Africa and the Congo Free State, the dividing line being here the 30th meridian of east longitude. Just east of that line the British post of Fort George was established on the north shore by Lugard in 1891. Lake Albert lies at an altitude of about 2100 feet. Its extreme length is about 100 miles, and its general breadth somewhat over 20, the area being approximately 2000 square miles. It is shut in both on the east and west by plateau escarpments, which for the most part approach the shores closely. Near the south end a plain, saline in places, with a width of some 7 miles, intervenes on the west between the plateau and the lake. At this part there are signs that the lake is shrinking, Nyamsasi,
which was an island at the time of Stanley’s visit in 1889, having since become a peninsula. Farther north, from Kahoma to Mahagi, the hills descend abruptly to the water, rocky headlands alternating with semicircular beaches. Near the coast the water is in places very shallow, owing to the sediment brought down by mountain torrents, and reeds have been seen growing 2 miles from the shore. The gorges cut in the plateau escarpment produce magnificent timber. This plateau—a sparselyinhabited rolling upland 2000 to 3000 feet above the lake (the Blue Mountains of Baker)—falls again steeply on the west to the Congo Basin, its maximum width being about 20 miles. The greater part of the shores of Lake Albert fall to British East Africa (Uganda Protectorate), but the stations established at Kibero on the east and Mswa on the west have been abandoned, owing to their unhealthiness. The extreme north-west portion has been leased to the Congo Free State during King Leopold’s lifetime, and of this a strip 15 miles wide, reaching the lake at Mahagi, will eventually revert to the state. (e. he.) Alberta. See North-West Territories. Albertina. See Orange River Colony. Albi, chief town of department Tarn, France, 423 miles S. of Paris, on railway from Carmaux to Castelnaudary. The Park of Rochegude, gift of the admiral of that name, contains a fountain adorned with 13th-century carvings. On the Yigan, a fine promenade, is a statue of the navigator La Perouse, who was born here. Manufactures of umbrellas and hats, the latter forming a considerable branch of industry, have become important. Population (1881), 14,729; (1891),14,219; (1896), 14,983, (comm.) 18,750. Albina., formerly a city of Multnomah county, Oregon, U.S.A., annexed to Portland in 1891. It is on the east bank of the Willamette river, not far from its mouth, in the north-western part of the state. The population in 1880 was 123; in 1890 it was 5129; in 1900 (see Portland). Albox, a town of Spain, in the province of Almeria, 42 miles N.N.E of Almeria. It owes its prosperity to woollen, spart, and flour industries, and to the wine, olive oil, and spart produced in the surrounding fertile country, where also live stock is abundant, especially sheep, goats, and mules. Population (1897), 10,313. Albox was originally an Arab town, Box. An earthquake almost entirely destroyed it in 1563, and it had to be rebuilt in great part. Albrecht, Frederick Rudolph, Archduke of Austria (1817-1895), eldest son of the Archduke Charles who defeated Napoleon at Aspern, was born on 3rd August 1817 at Vienna. He began his military career at the age of twenty, and after holding several minor posts, was in 1844 appointed commander of the forces in Upper and Lower Austria. It was his duty therefore tt> maintain order during the disturbances of 1848, and at the outbreak of revolution in Vienna during the month of March he was in command of the troops who came into collision with the rioters. Owing to the collapse of the Government it was impossible to repress the disturbances, and he was relieved from a post which brought much unpopularity and was not suitable to be held by a member of the imperial family. Like so many others of the Austrian military he spent the summer of 1848 in the army of Italy, under Radetzky, and though he was given no command he fought with distinction as a volunteer in the battles of Santa Lucia and Pastrengo. In the campaign of 1849 he was placed in command of the second division, which was in the vanguard of the army, and he gained
