Ituri River Explained

Ituri River
Name Other:Rivière Ituri
Pushpin Map:Democratic Republic of the Congo
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mouth:Aruwimi River
Mouth Location:Bomili

The Ituri River (French: Rivière Ituri) is a river of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the main tributary of the Aruwimi River, which forms where the Ituri meets the Nepoko River.It gives its name to Ituri Province.

Course

The Ituri has its headwaters in province of Haut-Uélé in the mountains to the west of Lake Albert, about north of Kaladau.It flows generally south into Ituri province, and flows past Mongbwalu to the east.It is joined from the left by Shari River to the northeast of Irumu about south-southwest of Bunia.It is joined from the left by the Malibongo River near Komanda Helipad.From there it flows in a generally westward direction to Bomili in Tshopo province, where it is joined by the Nepoko River to form the Aruwimi.

The Ituri is long. The Aruwimi is long, giving a combined length of .

The river flows through the Ituri Rainforest.About one-fifth of the rainforest is made up of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, a World Heritage Site.

History

In 1903 prospectors working for the Congo Free State discovered gold in the Ituri River.This led to the opening of the Kilo mine in 1905 and the Moto mine in 1911, and in 1919 to creation of the Régie Industrielle des Mines de Kilo-Moto.