The Biri River is a river of
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
. It is a left tributary of the
Kuru River
The Kuru River, or Chel River is a stream in the South Sudanese states of Western Bahr el Ghazal and Northern Bahr el Ghazal.
It is a headwater of the Lol River.
Course
The Kuru or Chel River forms in the south of Western Bahr el Ghazal on the bo ...
, a headwater of the
Lol River
The Lol River, or Loll River, is a stream in northern South Sudan that feeds the Bahr al-Arab, known locally as the Kiir River.
Course
The Lol River forms at the convergence of the Chel or Kuru River and the Magadhik River just west of Nyamle ...
.
Course
The Biri River rises in the south of the
Western Bahr el Ghazal
Western Bahr el Ghazal is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of and is the least populous state in South Sudan, according to the controversial Sudanese census conducted in 2008. It is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. Its capital is Wau. ...
near the border with
Haut-Mbomou
Haut-Mbomou is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Obo
Obo is the capital of Haut-Mbomou, one of the 14 Prefectures of the Central African Republic, prefectures of the Central African Republic. It is clos ...
in the Central African Republic.
It flows in a north-northeast direction past
Deim Zubeir
Deim Zubeir, from the Arabic ديم الزبير Daim az-Zubayr" commonly translated as the "Camp of Zubeir", is the historically established but highly controversial name of Uyujuku town in the Western Bahr el Ghazal of the Republic of South Su ...
(which lies to the east), then northeast to the border with
Northern Bahr el Ghazal
Northern Bahr el Ghazal is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 30,543 km² and is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. It borders East Darfur in Sudan to the north, Western Bahr el Ghazal to the west and south, and Warrap and the ...
, where it joins the Chel or Kuru River from the left.
Historical
The first European to visit the river appears to have been Dr.
Georg August Schweinfurth
Georg August Schweinfurth (29 December 1836 – 19 September 1925) was a Baltic German botanist and ethnologist who explored East Central Africa.
Life and explorations
He was born at Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire. He was edu ...
, who spent three years exploring the Bahr-el-Ghazal region before returning to Europe in the fall of 1871.
He did not take any astronomical observation, so did not record latitude or longitude, but did keep an excellent dead reckoning of distances and direction.
His map of the courses of rivers such as the Biri and Kuru are very accurate.
Frank Lupton in his 1884 ''Geographical Observations in The Bahr-el-Ghazal Region'' showed the Biri river flowing northeast past Deim Zubeir, but then (incorrectly) shows it being joined by the
Sabu (Sopo) River before flowing into the
Boru (Boro) River before the Kuru River joined the Boru.
In June 1894 a Belgian force under
Xavier-Ernest Donckier de Donceel entered the region from the southwest.
It crossed the Biri,
Sopo and Cohoca (?) rivers and arrived at
Liffi south of the
Raja River on 25 June 1894.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:
Rivers of South Sudan
Western Bahr el Ghazal