| Mofwe Lagoon | |
|---|---|
  Mofwe Lagoon | |
| Location | Luapula Province, Zambia |
| Coordinates | 9°37′S28°42′E / 9.617°S 28.700°E Coordinates: 9°37′S28°42′E / 9.617°S 28.700°E |
| Primary inflows | Mbereshi River, Luapula River |
The Mofwe Lagoon is the largest of several lagoons in the Luapula River swamps south of Lake Mweru, in the Luapula Province of Zambia.
Its size and shape depends on the season and amount of water flowing into the swamps, especially from the Mbereshi River to the southeast, its main supplier. Generally its north–south axis is about 14 km and its east–west axis is about 6 km. Floating islands of sedge are usually found in an east–west line across its middle, which may effectively cut it in two, and at times vegetation has covered much of the southern half.
The importance of the Mofwe lies in its fishery, which attracted Mwata Kazembe to settle in the town of Kanyembo on its eastern edge in the 19th Century. [1] The Mofwe does not have a definite shore and is not easily accessed, being lined by a dense band of very tall reeds, and having floating rafts and islands of sedge which change its margins and shape frequently. Local fishermen paddle dugout canoes along narrow channels through the reeds to reach open water. The lagoon and surrounding swamps support populations of hippopotamus and crocodiles.
The lagoon is separated from the main channel of the Luapula by 6 km of swamps. Although the Luapula swamps are generally 30 to 40 km wide for most of their 100 km length, at the nearest point to Mofwe, the Luapula's western bank is formed by an island in the DR Congo only 12 km from Kanyembo. This facilates trade and smuggling by canoe through the channels and lagoons of the swamps.
This article is about the transport in Zambia.
Lake Mweru is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up 110 kilometres (68 mi) of the total length of the Congo, lying between its Luapula River (upstream) and Luvua River (downstream) segments.
This article deals with the disputed area on the borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, in Luapula Province.
Bangweulu — 'where the water sky meets the sky' — is one of the world's great wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Bangweulu Flats or floodplain. Situated in the upper Congo River basin in Zambia, the Bangweulu system covers an almost completely flat area roughly the size of Connecticut or East Anglia, at an elevation of 1,140 m straddling Zambia's Luapula Province and Northern Province. It is crucial to the economy and biodiversity of northern Zambia, and to the birdlife of a much larger region, and faces environmental stress and conservation issues.
The Luvua River is a river in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It flows from the northern end of Lake Mweru on the Zambia-Congo border in a northwesterly direction for 350 kilometres (220 mi) to its confluence with the Lualaba River opposite the town of Ankoro. The Lualaba becomes the Congo River below the Boyoma Falls.
The Luapula River is a section of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. It is a transnational river forming for nearly all its length part of the border between Zambia and the DR Congo. It joins Lake Bangweulu to Lake Mweru and gives its name to the Luapula Province of Zambia.
Lake Mweru Wantipa or Mweru-wa-Ntipa meaning "muddy lake" is a lake and swamp system in the Northern Province of Zambia. It has been regarded in the past as something of mystery, displaying fluctuations in water level and salinity which were not entirely explained by variation in rainfall levels; it has been known to dry out almost completely. This is compounded by its remoteness and it not receiving the same attention from geographers and geologists as its larger and more accessible neighbours, Lake Tanganyika, 25 km east, and Lake Mweru, 40 km west, with which its name is sometimes confused.
Luapula Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces located in the northern part of the country. Luapula Province is named after the Luapula River and its capital is Mansa. As per the 2010 Zambian census, the Province had a population of 991,927, which accounted for 7.57 per cent of the total Zambian population.
Kazembe is a traditional kingdom in modern-day Zambia, Southeastern Congo. For more than 250 years, Kazembe has been an influential kingdom of the Kiluba-Chibemba, speaking the language of the Eastern Luba-Lunda people of south-central Africa. Its position on trade routes in a well-watered, relatively fertile and well-populated area of forestry, fishery and agricultural resources drew expeditions by traders and explorers who called it variously Kasembe, Cazembe and Casembe.
Kazembe is a name used for Mwata Kazembe's town in the Luapula Province of Zambia, especially on maps and in the Zambian postal service. The other name for the town is Mwansabombwe and this is the one used by its or Luba or Chibemba-speaking inhabitants. They may refer in English to "Kazembe's Village" or just "Kazembe", as traditionally a settlement is named after the chief or headman, rather than the location. The Luba-Lunda shared with many tribes the custom of moving to another village or a new site on the death of the chief. Historical references to a village or town may actually be to a different location. For instance when the explorer David Livingstone visited Mwata Kazembe in 1867 and 1868, "Casembe's town", as he wrote it, was further north at the town now called Kanyembo.
Kanyembo is the principal centre of the population on the Mofwe Lagoon, the largest of several lagoons in the Luapula River swamps south of Lake Mweru, in the Luapula Province of Zambia. It takes its name from its traditional ruler, Chief Kanyembo, one of the senior chiefs of the Kazembe-Lunda under Mwata Kazembe. In the past the incumbent Chief has been promoted to Mwata, and Kanyembo was the site of Mwata Kazembe's capital when it was visited by David Livingstone in 1867.
A dambo is a class of complex shallow wetlands in central, southern and eastern Africa, particularly in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. They are generally found in higher rainfall flat plateau areas and have river-like branching forms which in themselves are not very large but combined add up to a large area. Dambos have been estimated to comprise 12.5% of the area of Zambia. Similar African words include mbuga, matoro (Mashonaland), vlei, fadama (Nigeria), and bolis ; the French bas-fond and German Spültal have also been suggested as referring to similar grassy wetlands.
The Congo Pedicle is the southeast salient of the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which divides neighbouring Zambia into two lobes. In area, the pedicle is similar in size to Wales or New Jersey. 'Pedicle' is used in the sense of 'a little foot'. 'Congo Pedicle' or 'the Pedicle' is also used to refer to the Congo Pedicle road which crosses it.
The Congo Pedicle road crosses the Congolese territory of the Congo Pedicle and was constructed by and is maintained by Zambia to connect its Copperbelt and Luapula Provinces. Both the road and the territory may be referred to as ‘the Pedicle’. It is designated as the N36 Route on the Congolese Road Network.
Water transport and the many navigable inland waterways in Zambia have a long tradition of practical use except in parts of the south. Since draught animals such as oxen were not heavily used, water transport was usually the only alternative to going on foot until the 19th Century. The history and current importance of Zambian waterways, as well as the types of indigenous boats used, provide information on this important aspect of Zambian economy.
The Zambezian flooded grasslands is an ecoregion of southern and eastern Africa that is rich in wildlife.
The biomes and ecoregions in the ecology of Zambia are described, listed and mapped here, following the World Wildlife Fund's classification scheme for terrestrial ecoregions, and the WWF freshwater ecoregion classification for rivers, lakes and wetlands. Zambia is in the Zambezian region of the Afrotropical biogeographic realm. Three terrestrial biomes are well represented in the country . The distribution of the biomes and ecoregions is governed mainly by the physical environment, especially climate.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Zambia:
Zambia, officially known as the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the southeast of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital and the Copperbelt to the northwest.
Nchelenge District is a district of Zambia, located in the Luapula Province. The capital lies at Nchelenge. As of the 2000 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 111,119 people.