Mambilima Falls is a series of rapids on the

Luapula River The Luapula River is a section of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. It is a transnational river forming for nearly all its length part of the border between Zambia and the DR Congo. It joins Lake Bangweulu (wholly in Zambia) to Lake Mwe ...

on the boundary between

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 ...

and 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 ...

. The falls used to be called the Johnstone Falls. They extend along a stretch of the river. Below Lake Bangweulu the Luapula is a broad, swamplike system flowing southward that turns west and descends the steep

Mambatuta Falls The Mambatuta Falls is a steep waterfall on the Luapula River, which originates in Lake Bangweulu and flows through Zambia and along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Lake Mweru. The Luapula flows south from Lake Bangweulu ...

before meandering north to the Mambilima falls, The lush and densely populated Luapula valley opens out beyond the Mambilima falls into a huge area of marshes, floodplains and lagoons at the southern end of

Lake Mweru Lake Mweru (also spelled ''Mwelu'', ''Mwero'') is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up of the total length of th ...

. There is an almost continuous stretch of villages from the falls to the lake. Traditionally, the fishermen near the falls used dams, weirs and traps to catch as many fish as possible before the flood water receded. The fish of Lake Mweru do not spawn south of the waterfalls and rapids, where Lake Bangweulu has a distinct ecology.

References

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* * * {{refend Lake Mweru Luapula River Waterfalls of the Democratic Republic of the Congo