Luvua River - Congo Headwater Theory

Congo Headwater Theory

Some geographers consider that the Luvua is a section of the Congo River. They place the origin of the Nile in the highlands between Tanzania and Zambia, where the Chambezi River originates, flowing southwest to Lake Bangweolo. From that lake the Luapula River emerges and flows northward over 500 kilometres (310 mi) to Lake Nweru. The Luvua river exits lake Nweru and flows northwest to join the Lualaba River, which becomes the Congo River further downstream. Some say that the Congo begins where the Lualaba and Luvua meet. The argument for treating the Lualaba as the main headwater, although it is much shorter, is that it has twice the volume of water at the point where it meets the Luvua.