Lukuga River - European Contacts

European Contacts

Around 1871 David Livingstone noticed the break in the hills through which the "Logumba" passed, and suggested that the river might be an outlet of Lake Tanganyika, and that there could be other outlets further north. Verney Lovett Cameron reached the river at the point where it left lake in May 1874 on his journey across Africa from east to west. He confirmed that it was the only outlet of Lake Tanganyika, but was unable to get a guide to accompany him down the river to verify that it flowed into the Lualaba. In 1876 Henry Morton Stanley visited the lake. When he arrived, the lake level was low and he described the Lukuga as no more than a large creek extending westward for a great distance. However, he agreed that as the lake level rose the Lukuga would act as an outlet. It seems that a sandbar had formed across the river mouth, and the river had silted behind the bar.

In 1879 Joseph Thomson came to Kasenge from Pambete, travelling through very rough country. He found that the Lukuga creek was a large and fast-flowing river. He followed the course of the river for a few days, but hostile inhabitants of the region blocked his further explorations. When Hermann von Wissmann reached the river in 1882 he found that the river had become a fast and wide effluent. He also noted thst the lake level was 4.8 metres (16 ft) below the highest watermark.