| Kafue | |
|---|---|
 Kafue River, Chamufumbu, near Lubungu Pontoon, Zambia | |
 The Kafue River Basin | |
| Location | |
| Country | Zambia |
| City | Kitwe,Mazabuka, Kafue Town |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Zambian border with the Democratic Republic of Congo northwest of Kipushi,North-Western Province,Zambia |
| • coordinates | 11°36′S27°12′E / 11.600°S 27.200°E /-11.600; 27.200 |
| • elevation | 1,350 m (4,430 ft) |
| Mouth | Zambezi |
• location | nearChirundu,Southern Province,Zambia |
• coordinates | 15°56′34″S28°54′51″E / 15.9429°S 28.9143°E /-15.9429; 28.9143 |
• elevation | 410 m (1,350 ft) |
| Length | 1,576 km (979 mi) |
| Basin size | 155,000 km2 (60,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 320 m3/s (11,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Zambezi |
The 1,576 kilometres (979 mi) longKafue River is the longest river lying wholly within Zambia.[1] Its water is used forirrigation and for generatinghydroelectric power.[2] It is the largesttributary of theZambezi,[3] and ofZambia's principal rivers, it is the most central and the mosturban. More than 50% ofZambia's population live in the Kafue River Basin and of these around 65% are urban.[1]
It has a mean flow rate of 320 cubic metres per second (11,000 cu ft/s) through its lower half, with high seasonal variations. The river discharges 10 cubic kilometres (2.4 cu mi) per year into theZambezi River.[4]
The Kafue River rises at an elevation of 1,350 metres (4,430 ft) on the relatively flatplateau just south the border betweenZambia and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo 120 kilometres (75 mi) north-west ofChingola in theCopperbelt Province. The source of the Kafue River is in theNorth-western Province of Zambia. The area isMiombowoodland on the Congo-Zambezi watershed, with many branchingdambos lying 10 to 20 metres (33 to 66 ft) lower than the highest ground, producing a very gently undulatingtopography. 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 kilometres (31 mi) has the character of a mature river. The area receives about 1,200 millimetres (47 in) of rain in the rainy season, and the river's channel soon reaches 100 metres (330 ft) wide with afloodplain of fluvial dambos 1 to 2 kilometres (0.62 to 1.24 mi) wide.[5]
Before the river reaches theCopperbelt 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 ofChililabombwe,Chingola andMufulira, and through the outskirts ofKitwe.[6] The popular picnic spot the Hippo Pool north of Chingola is protected as anational monument.
In the Copperbelt, water is taken from the river toirrigate small farms andmarket gardens. At Kitwe it changes course to the south-west and flows through forest and areas of flat rock over which it floods in the wet season, keeping to a channel about 50 m wide in the dry season.[5][7]
The river again develops intricate meanders and a maze of channels in a swampy floodplain, withoxbow lakes and lagoons. It flows 20 km west of the permanent part of theLukanga Swamp which fills a circular depression, and which drains through a channel into the Kafue. The area between the swamp and river is flood plain and when that and surrounding areas are inundated in the rainy season, the combined wetland exceeds 6,000 km2.[5] This is the first of the three main wildlife areas of the river, and the least surveyed and protected.
The character of the river changes again, as it forms a less meandering dry-season channel with sandy banks and islands. Continuing south-west it enters theKafue National Park, second largest national park in Africa, where it receives its two largest tributaries, the Lunga and Lufupa rivers, also from the north.[6] The Kafue skirts the south-east edge of the Busanga Plain, one of Africa's premierwildlife areas, known for large herds ofcape buffalo,zebra andantelope. In the rainy season the Lufupa floods the plain.[8]
Like the upper Zambezi,Okavango andCuando rivers, the Kafue used to flow south all the way toLake Makgadikgadi and on to theLimpopo River, but the land in that area wasuplifted. A rift valley formed running due east of where the Kafue National Park is now, and the Kafue river eroded a channel called the Itezhi-Tezhi Gap through a ridge of hills about 100 m high, flowing eastwards. The Itezhi-Tezhi Dam was built in 1977 at the gap and now forms a reservoir 50 km long and up to 10 km wide.[8]
Further east, the river flows sluggishly across a flat plain called the Kafue Flats (formerlyButwa after theTwa people) and for the third time develops intricate meanders in a maze of swampy channels and lagoons. This time however it also has an immense shallowflood plain which no roads or railways cross, 240 kilometres (150 mi) long and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) wide,[5] flooded to a depth of less than a metre in the rainy season (deeper in some lagoons and permanently swampy areas), and drying out to a clayey black soil in the dry season. The Kafue Flats are the third major wildlife area of the river. Tens of thousands of Kafue Lechwe live on the Kafue Flats and are adapted to wading the flooded areas. This area also has one of the greatest variety and concentrations of birds in the world. TheLochinvar andBlue Lagoon National Parks have been established on the flats.[8]
AroundMazabuka as the river gets closer to the town ofKafue, sugar plantations and other large agricultural estates have been established on the fertile black soil and use water from the river in the dry season.[8]
The Kafue Flats end at Kafue town and from there, as the rift valley gets deeper, the river drops 550 metres (1,800 ft) over 60 kilometres (37 mi) through theKafue Gorge.[5] A second dam, theKafue Gorge Dam, with a smaller reservoir, generates electricity. The lower Zambezi (originally a separate river) cut back through the rift valleys and eventuallycaptured the Kafue. Their confluence is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north ofChirundu.[6]
SeeKafue Railway Bridge for a full account. It was opened in 1906 to connectKafue withMazabuka and was originally meant to be part of theCape to Cairo Railway.
The first road bridge across the Kafue was originally built across the Thames in London during the Second World War. After the war, it was dismantled and installed some 9 km downstream from the railway bridge. Previously, road traffic crossed the river by pontoon.[citation needed]
TheT3 road crosses the river in-betweenChililabombwe andChingola as well as in the city ofKitwe, both in theCopperbelt Province. TheT2 road (Cape to Cairo Road) crosses the river 10 km south of theKafue town centre. TheLusaka–Mongu Road crosses the river as the Kafue Hook Bridge in theKafue National Park.
As it flows through the Copperbelt the Kafue River is at great risk ofpollution, not just fromurban waste but fromcoppermine tailings.[9] The swampy areas west of the Lukanga Swamp help silt and pollution settle out so that the river becomes clear downstream. A report in April 2002 said:… natural wetlands are quite effective at controlling water pollution from mining in the Copperbelt … Tests show the Kafue to be clean of mining pollutants downstream from the Copperbelt.[10]
In theKafue flats, the discharge of phosphates in excess fertiliser run-off from commercial farming and the Nakambala Sugar Estate can cause algal blooms and weed growth, reducing fish populations.[4]
Effluent from mining containing cadmium, lead and mercury have degraded the Kafue River[11] Municipal water supply had to be suspended[when?] when the Kafue River turned blue due to slurry discharge.[12]
Because of its size and geographic location, the Kafue River basin is anecosystem that provides services and support to communities and industries that have different and sometimes conflicting interests in usage of the river resources. In 1999, theWorld Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiated dialogue between the Zambian Government, theZambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) and local people to restore a more natural flow pattern to water releases from theItezhi-Tezhi Dam built on the Kafue River.[13]
This project heavily influenced development of Zambian Government policy on water resources and in February 2010, the Zambian Cabinet approved a revised National Water policy that "aims to improve water resources management by establishing institutional coordination, engaging in modern methods of integrated water resource management while decentralising government policy to address diverse interests within the water sector".[14]
On 18 February 2025, atailings dam belonging to a copper mine operated by Sino-Metals Leach Zambiacollapsed in the Copperbelt Province, causing 50 million liters of waste containing concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals to enter a tributary of the Kafue River and prompting a shutdown of the water supply inKitwe.[15]
These have had major negative environmental effects on the river.[4]
Commercialplantations, especially those bordering the Kafue flats take large quantities of water for irrigation. Chief of these is the Nakambala Sugar Estate, which draws in excess of 720,000 m3 per day to irrigate 134.13 square kilometres of land to grow sugar cane.[4]
Authority control databases: National |
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