Uganda is a landlocked country that is mainly made up of plateaus with a rim of mountains. Located in Equatorial Africa, it borders Kenya to the east, Tanzania and Rwanda to the south, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west and Sudan to the north. Since Uganda is found in the Great African Plateau, much of the country is well-watered.

Nearly one-fifth of Uganda is open water or swamp land. Four of East Africa’s Great Lakes: Lake Victoria, Lake Kyoga, Lake Albert and Lake Edward lie within Uganda or around its borders. Lake Victoria is the second-largest inland freshwater lake in the world and feeds the upper waters of the Nile. Almost half of Lake Victoria is found in Uganda and the Ssese Islands and other smaller islands are part of Uganda.

Uganda is surrounded by mountains. The Ruwenzori Mountains, also known as the Mountains of the Moon makeup about 80 km (49.7 mi) of the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The two major peaks found in this range are Margherita at 5,113 m (16,774.9 ft) and Alexandra at 5,094 m (16,712.59 ft). The Mufumbiro volcanoes are found further south, with the three main peaks being Mount Mahavura at 4,132 m (13,556 ft), Mount Mgahinga at 3,648 m (11,968 ft), and Mount Sabinio at 3,477 m (11,407 ft). Mount Elgon at 4,324 m (14,186 ft) is Uganda’s highest peak and is found on the border with Kenya. North of Mount Elgon is Kadam Peak at 3,054 m (10,019 ft) and Mount Moroto at 3,085 m (10,121 ft). There are also mountains to the far northeast as well as the Imatong Mountains that border Sudan.