Luangwa River
| Mouth of the watercourse | Zambezi River  |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | Zambezi Basin |
| Country | Zambia |
| Coordinate location | 15°34′28″S 30°23′20″E, 9°55′59″S 33°20′58″E, 15°37′12″S 30°25′16″E |
De Luangwa River be one of de major tributaries of de Zambezi River, den one of de four biggest rivers of Zambia. De river generally dey flood insyd de rainy season (December to March) den then dey fall considerably insyd de dry season. E be one of de biggest unaltered rivers insyd Southern Africa den de 52,000 square kilometres (20,000 sq mi) wey make up de surrounding valley be home to abundant wildlife. De Nsefu sector insyd South Luangwa be known for ein Leopard population den intact wilderness.
Source den upper-middle course
[edit | edit source]Note: distances stated be approximate straight-line distances from source.
De Luangwa dey rise insyd de Lilonda den Mafinga Hills insyd north-east Zambia at an elevation of around 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), near de border plus Tanzania den Malawi, wey e dey flow insyd a southwesterly direction thru a broad valley. About 150 kilometres (93 mi) from ein source e drop to an elevation of about 690 metres (2,260 ft) wey e cam be a meandering river plus a floodplain several kilometres wide. Over de next 300 kilometres (190 mi) de meanders dey increase, plus chaw oxbow lakes den abandoned meanders. Near Mfuwe, de river ein elevation dey drop to about 520 metres (1,710 ft), de floodplain be about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) wide den de valley dey reach about 100 kilometres (62 mi) wide, plus a north-west escarpment (Muchinga Escarpment) about 700 metres (2,300 ft) high, den a south-western escarpment about 450 metres (1,480 ft) high. Insyd de dry season sam sections, especially insyd de upper reaches, dry out completely, wey dey leave isolated pools.[1]
De upper den middle parts of de valley dey contain de North Luangwa National Park den South Luangwa National Parks of Zambia. De river einself be home to large populations of hippopotamuses den crocodiles. De world ein largest concentration of hippos dey live insyd de Luangwa Valley. Insyd de dry season dem be restricted by de shrinking river den pools, wey dem be easily seen especially insyd isolated pools.[2]
Lower course
[edit | edit source]At 600 kilometres (370 mi) de river abruptly dey enter a narrow valley between hills wey dey rise sam 200 metres (660 ft) from de broader valley floor, wey cam be almost a gorge. About 700 kilometres (430 mi) from ein source de Luangwa dey merge plus ein tributary, de Lukusashi, after de latter merge plus de Lunsemfwa River wey dey cam from de opposite direction, den dey turn due south thru a steep narrow valley: dis be ein exit from de Luangwa Rift Valley. After only 20 kilometres (12 mi) e dey emerge from de hills into de broad valley of de Zambezi den dey meander over sandy flats about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) wide insyd a floodplain 3 to 5 kilometres (1.9 to 3.1 mi) insyd width. E dey merge plus de deeper Zambezi at Luangwa town.[3] De lower section of de river dey form de border between Zambia den Mozambique.[4]
Rift valley
[edit | edit source]De Luangwa Valley be a rift valley anaa graben wey dey form a south-west extension of de east African Rift, wey dey branch off ein Lake Rukwa-Lake Malawi southern section, den dey reach almost as far as Lusaka. De junction no be obvious secof e fill plus material dem spew out from an ancient, extinct volcano. Der be at least 20 hot springs, characteristic of a rift valley, insyd de valley anaa on ein escarpments.[5]
Natural barrier
[edit | edit source]De Luangwa Rift Valley den rivers within am dey form a natural barrier, plus a very low population density. Dis, de steepness of de terrain, den de existence of de wildlife reserves result in no highways wey dey cross de valley between de Lusaka-Kabwe roads insyd de west den de Isoka-Chisenga road insyd de north, a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 mi). De lower Luangwa Valley be crossed by just one road, de Great East Road at de Luangwa Bridge, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of de Luangwa-Lunsemfwa confluence.[6]
Read further
[edit | edit source]- Camerapix: Spectrum Guide to Zambia, Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996.
- Terracarta: Zambia, 2nd edition, International Travel Maps, Vancouver, Canada, 2000.
- Jean-Jacques Tiercelin et al., "Source Rocks and Reservoirs in Rift Lake Basins over the Past 300 Ma in Central and Eastern Africa", AAPG Annual Meeting, Houston, 2002. Accessed 18 February 2007.
- A.E. Moore: '"Drainage evolution in south-central Africa since the breakup of Gondwana". South African Journal of Geology, March 2001, v. 104; no. 1; p. 47–68.
- J.H. Dumisani: "Seismotectonics of Zimbabwe." African Journal of Science and Technology (AJST), Science and Engineering Series Vol. 1, No.4, pp. 22–28
- "Hot springs in the Luangwa Valley". The Northern Rhodesia Journal, Vol 2 No 3 (1954) pp. 65–66. Accessed 26 February 2007.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Gilvear, David; Winterbottom, Sandra; Sichingabula, Henry (April 2000). "Character of channel planform change and meander development: Luangwa River, Zambia". Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 25 (4): 421–436. doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-9837(200004)25:4<421::aid-esp65>3.0.co;2-q. ISSN 0197-9337.
- ↑ "Luangwa River In Zambia". AfricanMecca Safaris (in American English). Retrieved 2021-05-22.
- ↑ "Luangwa River". Zambia Tourism (in American English). Retrieved 2021-05-22.
- ↑ "Luangwa River". Britannica (in English). Retrieved 2021-12-04.
- ↑ "Luangwa River". Zambia Tourism (in American English). Retrieved 2021-05-22.
- ↑ "Luangwa Bridge High Resolution Stock Photography and Images - Alamy". www.alamy.com. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
External links
[edit | edit source]
- "Land of Leopards in South Luangwa, Zambia". NSEFU. Retrieved 2026-07-06.