The Luao River forms part of the boundary between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a right tributary of the

Kasai River The Kasai River ( ; called Cassai in Angola) is a tributary (left side) of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Republi ...

Location

The Luao River flows from south to north along the border between

Moxico Province Moxico (Portuguese spelling) or Moshiko (Bantu spelling) is the largest province of Angola. It has an area of , and covers 18% of the landmass of Angola. The province has a population of 758,568 (2014 census) and a population density of approxim ...

of Angola and

Lualaba Province Lualaba is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Lualaba, Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, and Tanganyika provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Katanga province. ...

of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It flows between the towns of Luau in Angola and

Dilolo Dilolo is a town in Lualaba province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies within five miles of the eastern bank of the Luao River, the DRC-Angolan border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by feature ...

in the DRC.

Border settlement

The border agreement between Portugal and Belgium of 25 May 1891 defined part of the border as being a tributary of the Kasai up to Lago Dilolo. However, it was discovered that Lago Dilolo drained southeast into the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

watershed rather than north to the Kasai. The Portuguese claimed that the Luao tributary of the Kasai should be taken as the boundary, while the Belgians were in favor of the Luacano River, a tributary of the Kasai farther to the west. Eventually Belgium ceded a large area west of the Luau River in an exchange of territories agreed on 22 July 1927. In return for the "Dilolo Hook", Belgium gained a smaller area to the northwest which opened an easier railway route from

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

Railway bridge

A bridge carries the Benguela railway and the EN230 highway across the river between Luau and Dililo. The Benguela railway, built by a subsidiary of

Tanganyika Concessions Tanganyika Concessions Limited (TCL or Tanks) was a British mining and railway company founded by the Scottish engineer and entrepreneur Robert Williams in 1899. The purpose was to exploit minerals in Northern Rhodesia and in the Congo Free Sta ...

, was completed from

Lobito Lobito is a Municipalities of Angola, municipality in Angola. It is located in Benguela Province, on the Atlantic Coast north of the Catumbela Estuary. The Lobito municipality had a population of 393,079 in 2014. History The city was founded in ...

on the Atlantic coast to Dilolo in August 1928. It took another 22 months to complete the line from Dilolo to Tenke, where it connected with the Katanga network run by the ''

Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga The ''Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga'' (BCK) was a railway operator in the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and later in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zaire. Most of the lines were in the southern Katanga Province, wit ...

'' (BCK). The line was officially opened on 1 July 1931.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT: Rivers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo