Lungwebungu River
Encyclopedia
The Lungwebungu River of south-west-central Africa
is the largest tributary
of the upper Zambezi River
. The headwaters of the Lungwebungu are in central Angola
at an elevation around 1400 m, and it flows south-east across the southern African plateau
. Within 50 km it has developed the character which it keeps for most of its course, of extremely intricate meanders, with multiple channels and oxbow lakes
, in a swampy channel about 800 m wide which in turn is in a shallow valley with a floodplain
3 to 5 km wide, inundated in the rainy season. The edges of the floodplain are a white sandy soil covered in thin forest. The main river channel grows from 50 m wide to 200 m wide near the Zambezi, and its floodplain suddenly broadens as it merges with that of the Zambezi, at the beginning of the Barotse Floodplain
, which is 25 km wide at that point.
The length of the river is about 645 km but so extreme and tight is its meandering that if
stretched out like a piece of string its length would be a multiple of three or four times that figure.
While the river is a valuable resource to people living near it as a source of fish, its meanders make it unsuitable for water transport except in the rainy season when canoes
and small boats can ride on the flood.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
is the largest tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the upper Zambezi River
Zambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
. The headwaters of the Lungwebungu are in central Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
at an elevation around 1400 m, and it flows south-east across the southern African plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
. Within 50 km it has developed the character which it keeps for most of its course, of extremely intricate meanders, with multiple channels and oxbow lakes
Oxbow Lakes
"Oxbow Lakes" is a single by ambient house artist The Orb. It featured remixes from artists such as Carl Craig, Sabres of Paradise and A Guy Called Gerald. It also includes an acoustic version performed by the string sextet Instrumental which was produced by Darren Allison. It reached number...
, in a swampy channel about 800 m wide which in turn is in a shallow valley with a floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
3 to 5 km wide, inundated in the rainy season. The edges of the floodplain are a white sandy soil covered in thin forest. The main river channel grows from 50 m wide to 200 m wide near the Zambezi, and its floodplain suddenly broadens as it merges with that of the Zambezi, at the beginning of the Barotse Floodplain
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...
, which is 25 km wide at that point.
The length of the river is about 645 km but so extreme and tight is its meandering that if
stretched out like a piece of string its length would be a multiple of three or four times that figure.
While the river is a valuable resource to people living near it as a source of fish, its meanders make it unsuitable for water transport except in the rainy season when canoes
Dugout (boat)
A dugout or dugout canoe is a boat made from a hollowed tree trunk. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. Monoxylon is Greek -- mono- + ξύλον xylon -- and is mostly used in classic Greek texts. In Germany they are called einbaum )...
and small boats can ride on the flood.