Lualaba River

Lualaba River

river

Native label	Lualaba
Mouth of the watercourse	Congo River
Drainage basin	Congo Basin
Basin country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinate location	2°8′52″N 22°28′55″E

De Lualaba River (French: Rivière Lualaba, Kongo: Nzâdi Luâlâmba, Swahili: Mto Lualamba) be a river within de Congo River watershed wey dey flow entirely within de eastern part of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although de Chambeshi River be recognized as de source of de Congo, de Lualaba dey provide de greatest streamflow to de Congo. De Lualaba be 1,800 kilometres (1,100 mi) long. Ein headwaters dey insyd de country ein far southeastern corner near Musofi den Lubumbashi insyd Katanga Province, next to de Zambian Copperbelt.

Course

De source of de Lualaba River be on de Katanga plateau, at an elevation of 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level. De river dey flow northward to end near Kisangani, where de name Congo River officially dey begin. From de Katanga plateau e dey drop, plus waterfalls den rapids wey dey mark de descent, to de Manika plateau. As e dey descend thru de upper Upemba Depression (Kamalondo Trough), 457 metres (1,499 ft) insyd 72 kilometres (45 mi). Near Nzilo Falls e be dammed for hydroelectric power at de Nzilo Dam.

At Bukama insyd Haut-Lomami District de river cam be navigable for about 640 kilometres (400 mi) thru a series of marshy lakes insyd de lower Upemba Depression, wey dey include Lake Upemba den Lake Kisale. Ankoro dey lie on de west bank of de Lualaba River, opposite ein confluence plus de Luvua River from de east. Sam geographers call de combined river below dis point de "Upper Congo".

Tributaries

De largest tributaries of de Lualaba River be:

• Ulindi River
• Luama River
• Lukuga River — drains Lake Tanganyika.
• Lufira River
• Lubudi River
• Luvua River
• Elila River
• Lowa
• Kilungutwe River

Cities den towns

De black line dey indicate Stanley's route.

Cities den towns along den near de Lualaba River dey include:

• Ankoro —on west bank, opposite confluence plus Luvua River.
• Bukama
• Kabalo
• Kasongo
• Kongolo
• Kisangani — near de seventh cataract of Boyoma Falls.
• Ubundu — just above first cataract of Boyoma Falls.

External links

• Maria Petringa, Brazza, A Life for Africa. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0