Luena River, Western Zambia

The Luena River of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

rises just west of the

Kafue National Park Kafue National Park is the largest national park in Zambia, covering an area of about 22,400 km² (similar in size to Wales or Massachusetts). It is one of the largest parks in Africa and is home to 152 different species of mammals. The park ...

and flows west through

Kaoma Kaoma was a French-Brazilian band formed in 1988 by Loalwa Braz (lead vocals), Chyco Dru (bass), Jacky Arconte (guitar), Jean-Claude Bonaventure (keyboard), Michel Abihssira (drums and percussion) and Fania (backing vocals). Dru is from Martini ...

to become a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of 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 ...

. In the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

, just below its confluence with its seasonal tributary the Luampa River, it ends in swamps or marshes on the Luena Flats east of

Lukulu Lukulu is a market town in the Western Province of Zambia, on the Zambezi River, and headquarters of a district of the same name. Access to the town is limited to only a few graded roads with traffic running through it from Kaoma town to Watopa ...

. In the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

the Luena Flats flood and overflow into the Ndandu channel or floodplain which leads south-west to the

Barotse Floodplain The Barotse Floodplain, also known as the Bulozi Plain, Lyondo or the Zambezi Floodplain, is one of Africa's great wetlands, on the Zambezi River in the Western Province of Zambia. It is a designated Ramsar site, regarded as being of high conserv ...

of Zambezi north of

Limulunga Limulunga is one of the two compounds of the Litunga, king of the Lozi people of western Zambia. It lies on high ground at the edge of the Barotse Floodplain of the Zambezi river, about 15 km north of the town of Mongu and 21 km east o ...

and

Mongu Mongu is the capital of Western Province in Zambia and was the capital of the formerly-named province and historic state of Barotseland. Its population is 179,585 (2010 census), and it is also the headquarters of Mongu District. History Mongu ...

. It is the widest 'tributary' floodplain of the Barotse Floodplain, reaching 20 km wide at its mouth. In the dry season, vehicle tracks cross the Luena/Ndandu floodplain between north and south, allowing a direct route between Mongu and

and

North-Western Province, Zambia North-Western Province is one of ten Provinces of Zambia. It covers an area of , has a population of 727,044 and a population density was 5.80 per square kilometre as of 2010. It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. The provi ...

. In the wet season the floodplain is impassable and vehicles have to travel west towards Kaoma, then north-west on the Kaoma-Lukulu road. At the height of the flood this road also becomes impassable across the floodplain, and there is no practical alternative. Rivers of Zambia Tributaries of the Zambezi River {{Zambia-river-stub