The Itimbiri River is a right tributary of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

, which it joins above Bumba. At one time it was important as a navigable waterway for transporting good from the northeast of the country down to the Congo.

Course

The Itimbiri River originates in

Bas-Uélé Bas-Uélé (French for "Lower Uélé") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Bas-Uélé, Haut-Uélé, Ituri, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the fo ...

, then flows through

Mongala Mongala is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Mongala, Équateur, Nord-Ubangi, Sud-Ubangi, and Tshuapa provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Équateur ...

, and in its lower reaches defines the border between Mongala and

Tshopo Tshopo is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. It is situated in the north central part of the country on the Tshopo River, for which it is named. Tshopo, Bas-Uele, Haut-Ue ...

. The Itimbiri is formed by the confluence of the

Rubi River The Rubi River (french: Rivière Rubi) is a left tributary of the Itimbiri River, which forms where the Rubi joins the Likati River. Course The Rubi River originates in the southeast of the Bas-Uélé province, then flows west until it meets the L ...

and the Likati River. The

originates in the east of Bas-Uélé and flows west through Buta. The Likati River originates to the west, then flows through Likati and southeast to join the Rubi. Likati lies to the south of Bondo on the

Uele River The Uele, also known by the phonetically identical Uélé, Ouélé, or Welle River, is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Course The Uele forms at Dungu, at the confluence of the Dungu and Kibali rivers, which both originate ...

. The Itimbiri flows in a general southwest direction. Water volumes range from , with the main flood in November and a secondary flood in August, and lowest water in February or early March. The river is very winding and generally has a sandy bottom, apart from the section upstream from Ibembo, where the bottom is very hard gravel. During low water the river widens and splits into several branches, making navigation by large vessels difficult. The average elevation is .

Biology

The Itimbiri, Aruwimi and

Lindi Lindi is a historic southern Tanzanian coastal small city and regional capital of the Lindi Region located at the far end of Lindi Bay, on the Indian Ocean in southeastern Tanzania. The town is south of Dar es Salaam and north of Mtwara, t ...

rivers are the main right bank tributaries of the Congo River downstream from the

Boyoma Falls Boyoma Falls, formerly known as Stanley Falls, is a series of seven cataracts, each no more than high, extending over more than along a curve of the Lualaba River between the river port towns of Ubundu and Kisangani (also known as Boyoma) in t ...

in the '' Cuvette Centrale (Central Basin). This is a flat area of lowland rainforest. As of 2015 about 231 fish species had been identified from the Itimbiri. ''

Mormyridae The Mormyridae, sometimes called "elephantfish" (more properly freshwater elephantfish), are a family of weakly electric freshwater fish in the order Osteoglossiformes native to Africa. It is by far the largest family in the order with around 2 ...

'' was the most dominant family in the Itimbiri basin as well as in the Aruwimi and Lindi/Tshopo basins.

Human presence

In 1890 the Belgian officers Léon Roget and

Jules Alexandre Milz Jules Alexandre Milz (10 September 1861 – 1 October 1902) was a Belgian soldier who was active in exploring the northeast of the Congo Free State. He traveled extensively in Uele District, where he resolved the question of whether the Uele River ...

travelled up the Itimbiri River from Bumba, then the Likati River, reached the

in the region of Djabir ( Bondo) and descended it almost to its junction with the

Mbomou River The Mbomou River or Bomu (also spelled M'bomou in French) forms part of the boundary between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mbomou merges with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. The U ...

. A railway line (

Vicicongo line Chemins de fer des Uele (Uele Railways or Vicicongo line) is a narrow-gauge line in the north east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was built between 1924 and 1937 as a portage railway bypassing Congo River rapids. Route The line runs ...

) connected Bondo on the Uele with Aketi on the Itimbiri. The line was reopened in April 2005 after being closed for 14 years. At one time the Itimbiri was the second most important tributary of the Congo in terms of tonnage transported after the Kasaï River. It was used for cargo from Aketi, at the head of the Chemins de fer vicinaux du Zaïre (CVZ) down to its mouth, a distance of . Cargo was transferred to the Congo River boats at Bumba, downstream from its mouth.

Notes

Citations

Sources

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