Africa is home to some of the largest and most ecologically diverse freshwater systems in the world.
These water bodies are of vital importance to a continent in which many people live in poverty and many regions are dry. Rivers in Africa bring life to otherwise infertile and barren regions, enabling people to grow crops, catch fish and transport natural resources. They also provide a valuable habitat to a vast range of animals.
African rivers have brought explorers and missionaries into the continent’s heartlands and to this day are a source of fascination for anyone interested in the continent’s history and geography.
The major rivers of Africa include the Nile, Congo, Niger, Zambezi and Orange.
Let's delve into some of the most significant water bodies on the continent.
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The African Great Lakes
The African Great Lakes are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift.
The great lakes of eastern African are home to some of the largest and most ecologically diverse freshwater systems in the world, supporting millions of people with drinking water, food and livelihoods.
The series includes Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world by area; Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume and depth; Lake Malawi, the world's eighth-largest freshwater lake by area; and Lake Turkana, the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake.
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Collectively, they contain 31,000 km3 (7,400 cu mi) of water, which is more than either Lake Baikal or the North American Great Lakes. This total constitutes about 25% of the planet's unfrozen surface fresh water.
The lakes are important habitats for a number of fish and amphibian species, abundant birdlife and numerous crocodiles.
In the surrounding lake region, one finds elephants, gorillas, hippos and other wildlife in the Great Rift's mountains and valleys.
The following are included on most lists of the African Great Lakes, grouped by drainage basin.
- Lake Victoria
- Lake Tanganyika
- Lake Malawi
- Lake Turkana
The highlands are relatively cool, with average temperatures ranging between 17 °C (63 °F) and 19 °C (66 °F) and abundant rainfall. Forests are dominant in the lowlands of the Congo-Zaire Basin, while grasslands and savannas (dry grasslands) are most common in the southern and eastern highlands. Temperatures in the lowlands average about 35 °C (95 °F). Around Lake Turkana, the climate is hot and very dry.
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The Western Rift Valley lakes are freshwater and home to an extraordinary number of endemic species. More than 1,500 cichlid fish species live in the lakes, as well as other fish families. The lakes are also important habitats for a number of amphibian species.
Nile crocodiles are numerous. The Lake Turkana area is home to hundreds of species of birds endemic to Kenya. The flamingo wades in its shallows. The East African rift system also serves as a flyway for migrating birds, bringing in hundreds more.
Vegetation ranges from rainforest to savanna grasses. In some lakes, rapidly growing invasive plants, like the surface-choking water hyacinth and shore-clogging papyrus, are problems.
Until 12 million years ago, the bountiful waters of the equatorial plateau either flowed west into the Congo River system or east to the Indian Ocean. This was changed by the formation of the Great Rift Valley.
A rift is a weak place in Earth's crust due to the separation of two tectonic plates, often accompanied by a graben, or trough, in which lake water can collect. This rift began when East Africa, impelled by currents in the mantle, began separating from the rest of Africa, moving to the northeast.
Lake Victoria is not actually within the Rift Valley.
Around two to three million years ago, Lake Turkana was larger and the area more fertile, making it a center for early hominids. Richard Leakey led numerous anthropological excavations in the area, which yielded many important discoveries of hominin remains.
Fishing-primarily of tilapia species but also of Nile perch-provides the main livelihood for people in the region. With four Great Lakes on its borders, Uganda ranks as one of the world's largest producers of freshwater fish.
The economies of the Great Lakes region states have different structures and are at various stages of development.
Despite their beauty, the great lakes rank as one of the world’s most endangered water systems.
Major Rivers of Africa
The major rivers of Africa include the Nile, Congo, Niger, Zambezi and Orange.
Nile River
The River Nile competes with the Amazon for the title of ‘World’s longest river’.
- Source: Lake Victoria, Uganda (White Nile); Lake Tana, Ethiopia (Blue Nile)
- Length of the White Nile: 4,130 mi (6,650 km)
- Flows through: Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt
- Flows past: Jinja, Juba, Khartoum, Aswan, Luxor, Cairo
- Discharges into: the Mediterranean from the Nile Delta, Egypt
- Average discharge: 98,800 cu ft/s (2,800 m3/s)
The Nile is the longest African river and either the longest or second-longest river in the world (by some calculations, the Amazon is longer). It flows northwards from East Africa, eventually discharging into the Mediterranean at the Nile Delta on the coast of Egypt.
The Nile River has two major tributaries: the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile is the longer of the two, but contributes only 20% of the water where they join near Khartoum in Sudan. The Blue Nile has its source in Ethiopia.
The British explorer James Speke was the first European to identify Lake Victoria as the source of the White Nile. In 1770 he followed the White Nile to where it flowed out of Lake Victoria in Uganda via the waterfall that he named Ripon Falls.
The origin of the White Nile’s waters remains undetermined, with some modern explorers claiming that the first drops of water destined to form the Nile rise in the mountains of Burundi, while others state that a river from the forests of Rwanda should have this honor.
The Nile valley has been populated for at least 6,000 years. It was a center for early civilizations in Egypt and Sudan, and an area of great cultural significance. The waters of the River have sustained agriculture, culture, transport, trade and tourism for centuries in Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.
The annual flooding of the Nile used to provide fertile silt for the cultivation of crops, but since the Aswan High Dam was completed in the 1960s, the levels of water have been regulated to prevent flood damage.
Today, control of the waters of the Nile is an important geopolitical issue, as countries along the course of the River build dams, trap water flow for hydroelectric schemes and utilize more and more of the water for the needs of their growing populations.
The Nile is the most famous of all African rivers, and one of the best-known rivers in the world.
Interesting Fact: The River Nile has flowed along the same course for at least the past 30 million years.
The Nile River
Congo River
- Source: Chambeshi River, northeast Zambia
- Length: 2,922 mi (4,700 km)
- Flows through: Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo; the tributaries also drain areas of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola.
- Flows past: Bukama, Kisangani, Lisala, Mbandaka, Brazzaville and Kinshasa.
- Discharges into: Atlantic Ocean at Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Average discharge: 1,476,153 cu ft/s (41,800 m3/s)
The Congo River is the second-longest river in Africa and the ninth longest in the world. It discharges a massive amount of water at its mouth, second only to the Amazon in this respect. It is also the deepest river in the world, being 720 ft (220 m) deep in places. The Congo is the only river in the world that crosses the equator twice.
This powerful river conjures up images of rainforest animals such as gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, forest elephants, okapis and different types of monkey, all of which can be found along its banks. The Congo River basin has the highest diversity of fish species of any African river system.
The current position of the River became established 1.5-2 million years ago, and its course today includes many rapids, waterfalls, swamps, lakes and islands.
The first European to see the Congo River was the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão, who sailed into the estuary in 1842.
The lower reaches of the River are only navigable for 100 miles before the start of the 32 large rapids known as the Livingston Falls. However, from Brazzaville and Kinshasa, going inland, the middle reaches of the River offer more than 1,250 mi (2,000 km) of navigable waterways.
The waterways allow the transport and trade of goods such as cotton, coffee, timber, minerals and rubber from many places where there is no access by road. It is estimated that 75 million people live in the Congo River basin today, many of whom are reliant upon this mighty River for their livelihoods.
Interesting Fact: The Congo River does not form a delta where it flows into the ocean, which is unusual among large rivers. Instead, the huge volumes of water enter the sea through a narrow, deep channel. In fact, the water flow has carved an underwater canyon that stretches 85 km out to sea and is over 3,200 ft (1,000 m) deep in places.
Niger River
- Source: Guinea
- Length: 2,611 mi (4,200 km)
- Flows through: Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria
- Flows past: Tembakounda, Bamako, Timbuktu, Niamey, Onitsha
- Discharges into: Gulf of Guinea from the Niger Delta, Nigeria
- Average discharge 197,373 cu ft/s (5,589 m3/s)
The Niger River, the third longest river in Africa, rises in the mountains in southwestern Guinea, West Africa.
Even though its source is only 150 mi (240 km) from the Atlantic Ocean, the Niger River does not flow towards the sea. Instead, it flows inland, straight into the Sahara Desert. It makes a wide arc and turns southeast near the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali, thereafter flowing southwards to the Niger Delta, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Guinea.
The British explorer Mungo Park mounted two expeditions (in 1795 and 1804) to identify the River’s course from source to mouth. He attempted to paddle a boat the entire distance and was much plagued by local tribesmen, who made numerous attacks on his boat as he passed.
Park’s party was well armed and repulsed the attacks, killing many tribesmen in the process. Eventually however, one such attack saw his boat run aground.
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