Longest river in Africa
Africa continent is a combination of various excellent places, like deserts, rain forests, plains, rivers. Thousands of tribes started their history near rivers. The longest river in Africa was once a cradle for one of the most mysterious civilizations in the world. Many endangered species of Africa are concentrated around major rivers in Africa. Rainy seasons supply heavy streams in rivers; it helps them to become larger and longer. Africa is the continent of hundreds of tribes, and most of these tribes get their culture from the river banks. Africa is also a place with the longest river on the Earth.
Top 20 Largest Rivers in Africa
The Shire River 402 km
It`s the largest river in Africa`s country – Malawi. The river name has been known as Chire or Shire. It starts from the Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River. The length of the river is 402 km. It starts in the Lake Malawi and goes right to the shallow Lake Malombe. Then it leaves the lake and runs on the South through Liwonde National Park. Between the towns of Chikwawa and Matope, the river goes through the series of the waterfalls. Beyond Chikwawa, it enters the Mozambique plain, where it joins with the Ruo River. The last obstacle to the Zambezi river is the Elephant Marsh.
Senegal River 1086 km
It`s one of the major rivers in Africa that creates a border between Mauritania and Senegal. The headwaters of the Senegal`s river are the Bafing and Semefe. From there the river goes to the west through Talari Gorges. It flows gently through the Kayes. The river has two dams, the Maka-Diama Dam and the multi-purpose manantali Dam. According to the Joao de Barros, the chronicler in the 16th century, the river was given name after a local Wolof Chieftan.
Draa River 1100 km
It`s one of the rivers in Africa. It`s considered to be the longest river in Morocco. It gets the formation from the combination of Imini River and Dades River. It comes from the High Atlas Mountains on the South ward to Tagouinte. From this place, the river goes strictly westwards to the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the year, the waters from the part after Tagounite fall dry. The Draa inhabitants are called Drawa, one of the most notorious Drawa is Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh. Outside the region of Draa, the word the Draa is mostly used as a reference to the dark skin people originated from the banks of the river.
Sankuru River 1 200 km
It`s a major river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The approximate length of 1 200 km makes the river one of the longest river in Africa and the longest tributary of Kasai River. The upper course of the river is also known as Lubilash. The flows of the river come from the northwards and reached westwards crossing through several towns. Most notable towns are Lusambo and Mbuji-Mayi. Sankuru River enters the Kasai River not far from Bana-Bendi.
The Vaal River 1 240 km
It`s one of the major rivers of Africa and the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river comes from the different sources, like Breyten in Mpumalanga province, North of Ermelo, East of Johannesburg. Then the river goes westward to its conjunction point with the Orange River. The junction line is Kimberley in the Northern Cape. The flows of The Vaal River create borders between Free State on the South, Guanteng and North West Province, and Mpumalanga. The tributes to the river include the Riet River, Wilge River, Klip River, Renoster River, Vet River, Mooi River, Blesbokspruit, Bamboes Spruit, Waterval River, Vals River and Harts River.
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Lomami river 1280 km
It`s the major tributary to the Congo River. The approximate length of the river is 1 280 km. It flows to the North West. The Lomami starts on the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Congo-Zambezi divide near to Kamina. It goes to the north through the Ireme, Opala, Bolaiti, Kombe, Tshofa and Lubao before it connects with the Congo River at Isangi. The river name can be meet in the number of biological species, like the flowering plant Pavetta Lomamiensis and the monkey Cercopithecus lomamiensis. It`s one of the most influential rivers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo history.
Benue River 1 400 km
This river was previously known as the Tchadda or Chadda River. Its length is around 1 400 km, and it`s considered to be the largest tributary to the Niger River. It`s one of the most important river routes fro the States of Nigeria. It comes from the Adamawa Plateau in Cameroon. It goes through the Ladgo Reservoir. The Benue River flows into Nigeria through the South of the Mandara mountains. It continues to flow through the Makurdi, Ibi and Jimerta. It finally connects with the Niger river in Lokoja. The river is also known for its flood with snakes. Around 200 people died from snakebites in 2013.
Volta River 1500 km
It`s one of the longest rivers in Africa. It goes directly through the Volta Region and Dagbon region. They are located in the Northern region of Ghana. The Volta river goes directly to the Atlantic Ocean. There are three main tributaries of the river, like the Red Volta, White Volta, and Black Volta. The Volta River is provided with its name from the Portuguese gold traders. On the lower Volta River, there is a reservoir impounded by the Akosombo Dam. This reservoir generates electricity for the Volta River Authority. The reservoir also provides transport water routes.
The Blue Nile 1548 km
The Blue Nile is one of the largest rivers in Africa. Together with the White Nile, it becomes the major tribute to the Nile. The upper stream of the river is named the Abbay in Ethiopia, where it considered to be the holy river. Some Ethiopians identify the Blue Nile as the River Gihon. The river riches its maximum level during the rain seasons. The Blue Nile is the major reason for flooding for the Nile. It contributes the fertility of the Nile Valley. Therefore, The Blue Nile was also described in the many Egyptian myths and its considered to be a part of Ancient Egypt History.
Jubba River 1580 km
It`s one of the rivers in Africa that is located in the Southern Somalia. The beginning of the river is located on the border of Ethiopia. It`s the point where Ganale Dorya and Dawa rivers meet. The river flows directly to the Indian Ocean. One of the earliest mentions about the river is connected to the Jesuit Jeronimo Lobo in 1624. He mentioned that the river flows through the Ethiopia and goes directly to the Indian Ocean. The Primary regions of Jubba are savanna. The banks of the river are considered to be the richest lands for the farmland.
Okavango River 1 700 km
It`s one of the rivers in Africa South West part. It`s considered to be the fourth longest river in that region. It starts in Angola, where it`s known for the Portuguese name Ria Cubango. It runs further to the south where it forms the border between Namibia and Angola. After that, it goes directly to the Botswana and right into the Moremi Game Reserve. The river does not have outlets to the sea. Therefore, it empties into the swamp in the Kalahari Desert. In the rainy seasons, The Okavango River can have an outflow to the Boteti River.
Limpopo River 1750 km
The river starts in the central Southern Africa and goes directly to the Indian Ocean. The approximate length of the river is about 1 750 km. The Limpopo is considered to be the second longest river in Africa that flows directly to the Indian Ocean. The first European who saw the river was Vasco da Gama, who later named the river as Espiritu Santo River in 1498. The lower course of the river was explored by St. Vincent Whitshed Erkine in the 19th century. Another European – J.F. Elton explored the middle course of the river in 1870.
Kwango River 1 770 km
It`s one of the rivers in Africa that serves as transboundary between nations. In this particular case, it`s a transboundary between Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. This river passes through Malanje town in Angola. The Kawngo River provides the largest treasure of diamond resources. They are concentrated in Lunda Norte Province in the Chitanba-Lulo Kimberlite Cluster. The Kwango River was the cradle of the Rund Kingdom and the Kingdom of Kasanje until The Portuguese colonized and replaced it. The river was also a center of a slave trading.
Kasai River 2153 km
Kasai or Cassai is one of the longest rivers in Africa central part. It`s also one of the largest contributors to the Congo River. The river starts in Angola and also serves as a natural border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. The river joins the Congo in the Kwamouth. The Kasai tributaries include the Sankuru, Kwango and Fimi rivers. The Kasai basin is a perfect spot that consists of equatorial rainforests. It`s also considered to be the great fertile lands. The Kasai River is filled with diamonds. Around 60% of Belgium diamonds come from the banks of the Kasai River.
Orange River 2200 km
What is the longest river in Africa`s South? It`s the Orange River. It starts in the Drakensberg mountains and flows westwards through South Africa and ends its flow in the Atlantic Ocean. The river forms the international borders between countries, like South Africa and Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. It also serves as a natural border for the several provinces in South Africa. The Orange River has been played the major role in the South Africa economy. It provides water, irrigation system and electricity from hydroelectric power.
Ubangi-Uele River 2270 km
Uele and Ubangi rivers are considered to be the largest rivers in Africa, which serves as tributaries for the Congo River. The combined length of Ubangi and Uele Rivers is 2 270 km. The Uele River is spelled as Welle River. It originates in the mountains close to the Lake Albert. It serves as one of the largest transport rivers between Brazzaville and Bangui. The overall drainage basin of the Ubangi-Uele river is 772 800 square km.
Zambezi River 2574 km
The Zambezi river is considered to be the fourth longest river in Africa. It`s also the largest river that flows directly to the Indian Ocean. The Basin area of the river is 1 390 000 square km. It starts in Zambia and goes to Angola. Then it runs along the Eastern border of Namibia, along with the border of Zambia and Northern border of Botswana. It creates the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia and flows to Mozambique. The Zambezi river crosses Mozambique in half and flows into the Indian Ocean.
Niger River 4 180 km
It`s the principal river in the West Africa. It`s extending length is about 4 180 km. The drainage basin of Niger River is 2 117 700 square km. The source of the river is in the South East Guinea, Guinea Highlands. The river flows through the Mali, Niger, Benin, Nigeria and right to the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The main tributary is the Benue River.
Congo River (Zaire) 4 700 km
The Congo River is considered to be the second longest river in Africa. And it`s the second largest river in discharge after Amazon. The deepest level of measured depths in the river is 220 m. The river crosses the equator twice. The total area of the Congo Basin is around four million square km. It covers the 13% of the entire Africa landmass.
Nile 6 853 km
The Nile is regarded as the longest river in Africa and the entire world. The water resources of Nile are shared within eleven countries: Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo-Kinshasa, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. There are two major tributaries to the Nile: The Blue Nile and White Nile.
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Source: Legit.ng
