Ruvuma
Ruvuma is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- -11.28°, 37.94°
About Ruvuma
Ruvuma River, formerly also known as the Rovuma River, is a river in the African Great Lakes region. During the greater part of its course, it forms the border between Tanzania and Mozambique. The river is 998 km (620 mi) long, with a drainage basin of ~155,000 km2 (60,000 mi2) in size. Its mean annual discharge is 475 m3/s (16,800 cu ft/s) to 2,286 m3/s (80,700 cu ft/s) at its mouth.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Ruvuma River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ruvuma in Depth
Overview
The lower Ruvuma river is formed by the junction at 11° 25′ S, 38° 31′ E of two branches of nearly equal importance, the longer of which, the Lujenda, comes from the south-west, the other, which still bears the name Ruvuma, from the west. Its source lies on an undulating plateau, 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high, immediately to the east of Lake Nyasa, at 10° 45′ S, 35° 40′ E, the head-stream flowing first due west before turning south and east.
In its eastward course, the Ruvuma flows near the base of the escarpment of an arid sandstone plateau to the north, from which direction the streams, which have cut themselves deep channels in the plateau edge, have almost all short courses.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Ruvuma River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ruvuma: Key Facts
| Length | 800 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 475 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 150,000 km² |
| Mouth | Indian Ocean |
| Tributaries | Lugenda River, Bangala River |
Facts from Wikidata Q746779 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Ruvuma: Quick Answers
- Where is Ruvuma?
- Ruvuma is located in Tanzania and Mozambique, at 11.2838° S, 37.9375° E.
- Are there dams on the Ruvuma?
- No dam on the Ruvuma is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.