Lualaba
Lualaba is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index, part of the Congo system. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- System
- Congo
- Coordinates
- -2.38°, 25.76°
About Lualaba
The Lualaba River (French: Rivière Lualaba, Kongo: Nzâdi Luâlâmba, Swahili: Mto Lualamba) is a river within the Congo River watershed that flows entirely within the eastern part of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although the Chambeshi River is recognized as the source of the Congo, the Lualaba provides the greatest streamflow to the Congo. 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 the Zambian Copperbelt.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Lualaba River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lualaba in Depth
Course
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.
History
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. Stanley 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.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Lualaba River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lualaba: Key Facts
| Length | 1,800 km |
|---|---|
| Mouth | River Congo |
| Drainage system | Congo Basin |
| Tributaries | Lukuga River, Lufira River, Elila River, Lubudi River, Lwama River, Ulindi River |
Facts from Wikidata Q836812 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Lualaba: Quick Answers
- Where is Lualaba?
- Lualaba is located in DR Congo, at 2.3774° S, 25.7613° E.
- Are there dams on the Lualaba?
- No dam on the Lualaba is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.
- Which river system is the Lualaba part of?
- The Lualaba is part of the Congo system.