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The Lualaba River flows entirely within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the greatest river source (headstream) of the Congo River by volume of water. The Lualaba is 1,800 kilometres (1,100 mi) long. Its headwaters are in the country's far southeastern corner near Musofi and Lubumbashi in Katanga Province, next to Zambia. The Chambeshi River is the longest river source (headstream) of the Congo.
The source of the Lualaba River is on the Katanga Plateau, at an elevation of 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level. The river flows northward to end near Kisangani, where the name Congo River officially begins.
From the Katanga Plateau it drops, with waterfalls and rapids marking the descent, to the Manika Plateau. As it descends through the upper Upemba Depression (Kamalondo Trough), 457 metres (1,499 ft) in 72 kilometres (45 mi). Near Nzilo Falls it is dammed for hydroelectric power at the Nzilo Dam.
At Bukama in Haut-Lomami District the river becomes navigable for about 640 kilometres (400 mi) through a series of marshy lakes in the lower Upemba Depression, including Lake Upemba and Lake Kisale.
Ankoro lies on the west bank of the Lualaba River, opposite its confluence with the Luvua River from the east. Some geographers call the combined river below this point the "Upper Congo".
Below Kongolo, the river becomes unnavigable as it enters the narrow gorge of Portes d'Enfer (Gates of Hell). Between Kasongo and Kibombo, the river is navigable for about 100 kilometres (62 mi), before rapids make it unnavigable again between Kibombo and Kindu (Port-Empain). From Kindu up to the Boyoma Falls at Ubundu, the stream is navigable again for more than 300 kilometres. The Boyoma Falls or Stanley Falls are made up of seven cataracts, over a stretch of 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the river, between Ubundu and Kisangani. The river's end is marked after the seventh cataract, near Kisangani, where its name becomes the Congo River.
The Lualaba River serves as the northern and western boundary of Upemba National Park, protecting habitats on the Kibara Plateau in Katanga Province of the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The largest tributaries of the Lualaba River are:
Cities and towns along and near the Lualaba River include:
The Lualaba River was once considered a possible source of the Nile, until Henry Morton Stanley journeyed down it and proved that it drained into the Atlantic Ocean. 114,135Stanley himself referred to it as the Livingstone. "Had not Livingstone spoken of the river at Nyangwe as the Lualaba, I should not have mentioned the word except as a corruption by the Waguha of the Wenya term Lu-al-ow-wa..." :
French colonial governor Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza also explored the Lualaba.
Ground transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has always been difficult. The terrain and climate of the Congo Basin present serious barriers to road and rail construction, and the distances are enormous across this vast country. Furthermore, chronic economic mismanagement and internal conflict has led to serious under-investment over many years.
The Congo River, formerly known as the Zaire River during the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge volume, following only the Amazon. It is also the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths in excess of 220 m (720 ft). The Congo-Lualaba-Chambeshi River system has an overall length of 4,700 km (2,920 mi), which makes it the world's ninth-longest river. The Chambeshi is a tributary of the Lualaba River, and Lualaba is the name of the Congo River upstream of Boyoma Falls, extending for 1,800 km (1,120 mi).
Boyoma Falls, formerly known as Stanley Falls, is a series of seven cataracts, each no more than 5 m (16 ft) high, extending over more than 100 km (62 mi) along a curve of the Lualaba River between the river port towns of Ubundu and Kisangani in the Orientale Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The seven cataracts have a total drop of 61 m (200 ft). They form the largest waterfall by volume of annual flow rate in the world, exceeding both the Niagara Falls and the Iguazu Falls.
Stanley Falls may refer to :
The Luvua River is a river in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It flows from the northern end of Lake Mweru on the Zambia-Congo border in a northwesterly direction for 350 kilometres (220 mi) to its confluence with the Lualaba River opposite the town of Ankoro. The Lualaba becomes the Congo River below the Boyoma Falls.
The Luapula River is a section of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. It is a transnational river forming for nearly all its length part of the border between Zambia and the DR Congo. It joins Lake Bangweulu to Lake Mweru and gives its name to the Luapula Province of Zambia.
Kisangani is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the third largest urbanized city in the country and the largest of the cities that lie in the tropical woodlands of the Congo.
The Lubudi River is a tributary of the Lualaba River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Lubudi rises near the Zambian border southwest of Kolwezi. It flows north and northeast to join the Lualaba from the left where the southern Katanga plateau drops into the Upemba Depression, near Bukama.
The Lukuga River is a tributary of the Lualaba River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that drains Lake Tanganyika. It is unusual in that its flow varies not just seasonally but also due to longer term climate fluctuations.
Upemba National Park is a large national park in Haut-Lomami, Lualaba Province & Haut-Katanga Province of the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire.
Wagenya is the name of a place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and of the people living there; situated in the northern part of Congo, by the city of Kisangani and on the lower reaches of the Boyoma Falls. As a result, the seventh and last cataract on the Boyoma is named the Wagenia Falls. Because of low rock banks, at this point the Congo River is not anymore navigable and it creates rapids. For centuries, people living there have fished in a rather interesting way. They build a huge system of wooden tripods across the river. These tripods are anchored on the holes naturally carved in the rock by the water current. To these tripods are anchored large baskets, which are lowered in the rapids to "sieve" the waters for fish. It is a very selective fishing method, as these baskets are quite big and only large fish are entrapped. Twice a day the adult Wagenya people pull out these baskets to check if there is any fish caught; in which case somebody will dive into the river to fetch it. At the end of each day the product of this ancient way of fishing is divided among all the members of the same family; including also those who did not take direct action into it. The locations where each individual can set his baskets are inherited like for a property of land.
Ubundu, formerly known as Ponthierville or Ponthierstad, is a city located in the Tshopo Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is on the Lualaba River, or Upper Congo, just above the Boyoma Falls. The river is not navigable from here downstream to Kisangani, so a portage railway was built to link Ubundu to Kisangani. Upstream from Ubundu the river is navigable as far as Kasongo.
Articles related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo include:
Rail transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is provided by the National Railway Company of the Congo, the ONATRA and the Office of the Uele Railways.
The National Assembly is the lower house and main legislative political body of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established by the 2006 constitution.
The Lake Chad replenishment project is a proposed major water diversion scheme that would involve damming the Ubangi River at Palambo in Central African Republic and channeling some of the water to Lake Chad through a navigable canal.
Pweto Territory is a territory in the Haut-Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The headquarters are in the town of Pweto.
Ankoro is a town in Tanganyika province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the west bank of the Lualaba River opposite the point where it is joined by the Luvua River.
Lake Kisale is a lake in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in Bukama Territory, Haut-Lomami District. At about 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi) in area, it is the second largest of the lakes in the Upemba Depression, an extensive marshy area partly within the Upemba National Park.
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