Luena River (Zambia)

The Luena River of

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

's Western Province rises just west of the Kafue National 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 drainage ...

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 In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with its seasonal tributary the Luampa River, it ends in swamps or marshes on the Luena Flats east of Lukulu. 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 of ...

and 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 Lukulu and North-Western Province, Zambia. 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