Kafue River

Kafue
River
Kafue River, Chamufumbu, near Lubungu Pontoon, Zambia
Country	Zambia
Part of	Zambezi
City	Kitwe, Mazabuka, Kafue Town
Landmark	Lukanga Swamp, Kafue Flats
Source
- location	Zambian border with the Democratic Republic of Congo northwest of Kipushi, Copperbelt Province, Zambia
- elevation	1,350 m (4,429 ft)
- coordinates	11°36′S 27°12′E / 11.600°S 27.200°E / -11.600; 27.200
Mouth	Zambezi
- location	near Chirundu, Lusaka Province, Zambia
- elevation	410 m (1,345 ft)
- coordinates	15°56′S 28°55′E / 15.933°S 28.917°E / -15.933; 28.917Coordinates: 15°56′S 28°55′E / 15.933°S 28.917°E / -15.933; 28.917
Length	1,600 km (994 mi)
Basin	155,000 km2 (59,846 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	320 m3/s (11,301 cu ft/s)
Kafue River (red) and part of the Zambezi River (blue)

The Kafue River is the longest river lying wholly within Zambia at about 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) long. Its water is used for irrigation and for hydroelectric power. It is the largest tributary of the Zambezi, and of Zambia's principal rivers, it is the most central and the most urban. More than 50% of Zambia's population live in the Kafue River Basin and of these around 65% are urban.

It has a mean flow rate of 320 m³/s through its lower half, with high seasonal variations. The river discharges 10 km³ per year into the Zambezi River.

The Kafue River rises at an elevation of 1350 m on the relatively flat plateau just south the border of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 120 km north-west of Chingola in the Copperbelt Province. The area is Miombo woodland on the Congo-Zambezi watershed, with many branching dambos lying 10 to 20 m lower than the highest ground, producing a very gently undulating topography. The river starts as a trickle from the marshy dambos (the Munyanshi Swamp is a tributary) and with little slope to speed up river flow, it meanders south-eastwards sluggishly and within 50 km has the character of a mature river. The area receives about 1200 mm rain in the rainy season, and the river's channel soon reaches 100 m wide with a floodplain of fluvial dambos 1–2 km wide.

Before the river reaches the Copperbelt towns, however, it loses its wide floodplain, the channel narrows to 30–40 m and it meanders less, in a shallow valley only 40 m or so lower than the surrounding plateau. It flows close to the Copperbelt towns of Chililabombwe, Chingola and Mufulira, and through the outskirts of Nchanga and Kitwe. The popular picnic spot the Hippo Pool north of Chingola is protected as a national monument.