The Luama River is a tributary of the
Lualaba River
The Lualaba River flows entirely within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It provides the greatest streamflow to the Congo River, while the source of the Congo is recognized as the Chambeshi. The Lualaba is long. Its headwaters are in ...
in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(DRC).
Location
The Luama rises in the mountains to the west of
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...
, in the
Kalemie Territory
Kalemie, formerly Albertville or Albertstad, is a town on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is next to the outflow of the Lukuga River from Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba River.
History
From 1 ...
of
Tanganyika District
Tanganika District was a district of the pre-2015 Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The district dates back to the days of the Belgian Congo.
At its greatest extent it roughly corresponded to the present Tanganyika Provi ...
. It flows north and northwest into
Kabambare Territory
Kabambare is a territory in Maniema province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the D ...
of
Maniema
Maniema is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Its capital is Kindu.
Toponymy
Henry Morton Stanley explored the area, calling it Manyema.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , ...
, then turns to the southwest, entering the Lualaba above
Kasongo
Kasongo, also known as Piani Kasongo, is a town and a Territory, located in the Maniema Province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Geography
Kasongo lies east of the Lualaba River, northwest of its confluence with the Luama River ...
.
The river has five sources in the mountains, two of which are above in altitude.
The headwater regions upstream of
Pene Mende Pene may refer to:
* ''Pene'' (gastropod)
* William Pène du Bois
* Raoul Pene Du Bois
* Omar Pene
* Guy Pène du Bois
* Arran Pene
Arran Rewi Brett Pene (born 26 October 1967) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A number 8, Pene r ...
include a system of wetlands about in length and covering about . Below these wetlands the river drops down three waterfalls and includes several minor rapids.
The Luama enters the Lualaba from the east after the rapids below
Kangolo and just before the Lualaba turns northwest in the stretch above
Kibombo.
The Luama River defines the southern boundary of the range of
eastern gorilla
The eastern gorilla (''Gorilla beringei'') is a critically endangered species of the genus ''Gorilla'' and the largest living primate. At present, the species is subdivided into two subspecies. There are 3,800 eastern lowland gorillas or Graue ...
s, which is bounded by the Lualaba river to the west, the Albertine rift to the east and the
Lindi River
The Lindi is a minor river of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It flows through the Tshopo and North Kivu provinces.
Settlements
*Bafwasende
*Asangwa
Asangwa is a town in North Kivu in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Cong ...
to the north.
European exploration
The explorer
Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa
Cen ...
visited the river in October 1876. He said of the people: "They are tolerably hospitable, and permit strangers the free use of their dwellings. The bananas and plantains are very luxuriant, while the Guinea palms supply the people with oil and wine; the forests give them fuel, the rivers fish, and the gardens cassava, groundnuts, and Indian corn". He said of the lower reaches of the river that as far as the Lualaba the current was from three to six knots and the river was about deep, with a shaly bed.
Stanley followed the river down to the Lualaba, and then followed the Lualaba downstream as it curved away to the west, determining that it was not the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
as
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
had surmised, but was the upper part 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 ...
.
The
Arab war in the
Congo Free State
''(Work and Progress)
, national_anthem = Vers l'avenir
, capital = Vivi Boma
, currency = Congo Free State franc
, religion = Catholicism (''de facto'')
, leader1 = Leopo ...
was concluded by a victory by the ''
Force Publique
The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; nl, Openbare Weermacht) was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885 (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of ...
'' led by Dhanis and Pnthier on the Luama River on 20 October 1893.
References
Sources
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Rivers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
{{DRCongo-river-stub