evidence: Lake Malawi (or Lake Nyasa, Lake Niassa) is a lake in Africa. It is the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system. It is shared between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. Before Malawi became independent in 1964, the territory was called Nyasaland. For this reason, Mozambique and Tanzania call the lake Lake Nyasa. Lake Malawi is the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. It is the ninth largest lake in the world.