The Mbari River is a river of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. It is a right tributary of the

Mbomou River The Mbomou River or Bomu (also spelled M'bomou in French) forms part of the boundary between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mbomou merges with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. The Ub ...

not far to the north of where the Mbomou joins the

Uele River The Uele, also known by the phonetically identical Uélé, Ouélé, or Welle River, is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Course The Uele forms at Dungu, at the confluence of the Dungu and Kibali rivers, which both originate ...

to form the

Ubangi River The Ubangi River (), also spelled Oubangui, is the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River in the region of Central Africa. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m3/s) and Uele Rivers (mean annual discharge ...

Environment

The Mbari River is the main drainage axis of the

Mbomou plateau :''Mbomou'' can also refer to the Mbomou River. Mbomou is one of the sixteen prefectures of the Central African Republic. It covers an area of and has a population of 132,740 (according to a 2003 census), giving a population density of only 2.2 ...

. It is about long, running in a NE-SW direction through a wide alluvial plain. It drains a catchment area of . The plateau has an elevation of , slightly inclined to the south, on the Asande rise between the

Lake Chad Lake Chad (french: Lac Tchad) is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Central Africa, which has varied in size over the centuries. According to the ''Global Resource Information Database'' of the United Nations Environment Programme, ...

depression to the north and the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...

to the south. A study published in 2002 found signs that forest plants were replacing savanna vegetation in the Mbari valley, in part due to sufficient annual rainfall, reduced frequency of bush fires and migration of rural people away from the region due to the economic crisis in Central Africa.

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Ly ...

s have been documented in the south of the CAR in the

Chinko Chinko, also known as Chinko Nature Reserve and the Chinko Project Area, is a protected area in the Central African Republic. The nonprofit conservation organization African Parks began managing Chinko in partnership with the government of the Ce ...

/Mbari drainage basin in 2013.

History

The Bandia clan separated from the Abaza clan in the early 17th century. They controlled a large area between the

and the

. In the last quarter of the 18th century one of their leaders, Ndounga, founded what became the Bangassou kingdom over the Nzakara people on the Mbari river. His brother Kassanga founded what became the Rafai kingdom on the Chinko River. These kingdoms prospered during the 19th century by participating in the growing slave trade, and thus avoiding raids by slave traders. In the 1880s the chief Bangassou, whom the Belgians called Sultan Bangassou, began to obtain rifles from agents of the Congo Free State, and used these to expand his power. In January he moved his headquarters to where the Mbari enters the Bangassou. The Belgian

Alphonse van Gèle Alphonse van Gèle, also written van Gele or Vangele (25 April 1848 – 23 February 1939), was a Belgian soldier who served as the Vice-Governor General of the Congo Free State from December 1897 until January 1899. He established the Equator S ...

founded the Yakoma post on the

on 31 May 1890. Bangassou visited him there on 14 June 1890 and signed a treaty placing his Nzakara kingdom under the protection of the Congo Free State in order to obtain trade goods, weapons and military support from the Europeans. He sold huge quantities of ivory to agents of the Congo Free State. In 1894 the Belgian

Léon Hanolet Léon-Charles-Édouard Hanolet (25 November 1859 – 1 December 1908) was a Belgian soldier, explorer and colonial administrator. He is known for his explorations in 1894–1895 in what is now the Central African Republic, which led to an agreement ...

ascended the Bari River while

Théodore Nilis Théodore Victor Edouard Adolphe Arthur Nilis (27 June 1851 – 23 April 1905) was a Belgian soldier and colonial official. Early years (1851–1881) Théodore Victor Edouard Adolphe Arthur Nilis was born in Brilow, Westphalia, on 27 June 1851. H ...

and Charles de la Kethulle ascended the

Chinko River The Chinko River (or Shinko River) is a river of the Central African Republic. It is a right tributary of the Mbomou River. Environment The upper reaches of the Chinko river define the border between the Haute-Kotto and Haut-Mbomou prefectures. F ...

Environment

History

Notes

Citations

Sources