Lukuga
Lukuga is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. 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
- Coordinates
- -5.79°, 28.10°
About Lukuga
The Lukuga River (Swahili: Mto Lukuga) 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.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Lukuga River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lukuga in Depth
Location
The river leaves Lake Tanganyika at Kalemie and flows through a gap in the highlands westward through Tanganyika Province to join the Lualaba between Kabalo and Kongolo.
Typically the river accounts for 18% of water loss from the lake, with the rest being due to evaporation.
The proportions of ionic contents where the Lukuga River leaves the lake, with magnesium and potassium more prevalent than calcium and sodium, are caused by the Albertine Rift's hydrothermal inputs, as seen also at the outlets of Lake Kivu and Lake Edward.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Lukuga River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lukuga: Key Facts
| Length | 320 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 244,500 km² |
| Source | Lake Tanganyika |
| Mouth | Lualaba River |
| Drainage system | Congo Basin |
| Tributaries | Kalimabenge, Kasenga |
Facts from Wikidata Q128350 (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
Lukuga: Quick Answers
- Where is Lukuga?
- Lukuga is located in DR Congo and Tanzania, at 5.7924° S, 28.1032° E.
- Are there dams on the Lukuga?
- No dam on the Lukuga is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.