Luapula River
| Origin of the watercourse | Lake Bangweulu  |
|---|---|
| Mouth of the watercourse | Lake Mweru |
| Tributary | Kafubu River |
| Lake for watercourse top | Lake Bangweulu |
| Drainage basin | Congo Basin |
| Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia |
| Coordinate location | 9°24′50″S 28°31′19″E, 11°26′11″S 29°48′55″E, 9°23′33″S 28°31′27″E |
De Luapula River be a north-flowing river of central Africa, within de Congo River watershed. E dey rise insyd de wetlands of Lake Bangweulu (Zambia), wich be fed by de Chambeshi River. De Luapula dey flow west then north, wey dey mark de border between Zambia den de Democratic Republic of the Congo before emptying into Lake Mweru. De river dey give ein name to Zambia ein Luapula Province.[1]
Source den upper Luapula
[edit | edit source]De Luapula dey drain Lake Bangweulu den ein swamps into wich dey flow de Chambeshi River, de source of de Congo. Der be no single clear channel wey dey connect de two rivers den de lake, buh a mass of shifting channels, lagoons den swamps, as de explorer David Livingstone find to ein cost. (He die exploring de area, den one of ein last acts be to question Chief Chitambo about de course of de Luapula.)[2][3] De channel dem boldly mark as de 'Luapula' wey dem confidently show on chaw maps wey dey flow south out of Lake Bangweulu at 11°25'S 29°49'E fi be seen on satellite images such as Google Earth to actually peter out into green vegetation around 11°46'S 29°48'E.[4]
Valley
[edit | edit source]From de Chembe Bridge to Lake Mweru, de 300 kilometres (190 mi) long Luapula Valley get a higher rural population dan de plateau thru wich e dey cut to a depth of up to 500 metres (1,600 ft). De river be known for dis valley den for ein long thin delta wey dey enter Lake Mweru, dem usually refer to as de Luapula Swamps. De well-populated part of de valley dey start north from Mambilima Falls, den along de rest of ein length be nicknamed 'Mwapoleni Road', after de Chibemba greeting dem call out as people pass each oda.
Overlying de edge of de rift valley 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of de Luapula Swamps be de Luizi structure, a 12.6 kilometres (7.8 mi) wide series of concentric rings. E be recently confirmed as a meteoritic impact crater (an astrobleme) formed less dan 600 million years ago.[5]
Swamps
[edit | edit source]De swamps stretch along de last 100 kilometres (62 mi) of de river before e reach de lake, den for much of dat, dem be 30 kilometres (19 mi) wide, wey dey cover an area of about 2,500 square kilometres (970 sq mi). Der be four inhabited islands insyd de DR Congo part of de delta, wey dey include de largest insyd de system, wich be accessible overland during de dry season. Zambia get three inhabited islands insyd de delta wey dey include Chisenga Island. Der sanso be chaw lagoons, de largest of wich be Mofwe Lagoon on de Zambian side.[4]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Terracarta/International Travel Maps, Vancouver Canada: "Zambia, 2nd edition", 2000
- ↑ Blaikie, William Garden (1880): The Personal Life Of David Livingstone. Project Gutenberg Ebook #13262, release date: August 23, 2004.
- ↑ David Livingstone and Horace Waller (ed.): The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa from 1865 to his Death. Two volumes, John Murray, 1874.
- 1 2 "Luapula River". earth.google.com. 2026. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ P Master, P. Dumont and H. Ladmirant: "Age Constraints On The Luizi Structure". 64th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting. (2001). Accessed 30 March 2007. The Luizi structure can be seen on Google Earth at decimal latitude/longitude 10.16 S, 28.00 E.
External links
[edit | edit source]
- Camerapix: "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996.
