Kivu was the name for a large "region" in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo under the rule of
Mobutu Sese Seko that bordered
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which ...
. It included three "Sub-Regions" ("Sous-Régions" in French):
Nord-Kivu
North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Its capital is Goma.
North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the so ...
,
Sud-Kivu
South Kivu (''Jimbo la Kivu Kusini'' in Swahili), (french: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Its capital is Bukavu.
History
South Kivu Province was created from Sud-Kivu District in 1989, when the exi ...
and
Maniema, corresponding to the three
current provinces created in 1986. The capital of the Kivu Region was in
Bukavu
Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu pro ...
, and the capitals of the three Sub-Regions were in
Goma,
Uvira
Uvira is a city in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uvira is a Roman Catholic diocese, a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bukavu.
Geography
It is located at the extreme north end of Lake Tanganyika. Kalundu is a lake p ...
and
Kindu.
Kivu has been repeatedly subjected to major conflicts since the early 20th century. Under
Belgian colonial rule, it was the site of several religious revolts such as the
1944 Kivu uprising. Following independence, it was a battleground of the
Simba rebellion,
First Congo War
The First Congo War, group=lower-alpha (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo), with major spillo ...
, and
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...
, and has been the site of an
ongoing military conflict since the early 2000s. In addition, an
Ebola epidemic
This list of Ebola outbreaks records the known occurrences of Ebola virus disease, a highly infectious and acutely lethal viral disease that has afflicted humans and animals primarily in equatorial Africa. The pathogens responsible for the di ...
affected the region from August 2018 to June 2020.
Geography
Kivu is also the name for the entire region surrounding
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which ...
, including the portions in
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equat ...
which contain the vast majority of the lake area's population (the contiguous towns of
Goma in the
Democratic Republic of Congo and
Gisenyi
Gisenyi, historically rendered as Kisenyi, is a city in Rubavu district in Rwanda's Western Province. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma, the city across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Overview
The city features a resort on ...
in
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equat ...
, with a combined population approaching 1,000,000, form the largest urbanised area in the
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which ...
area).
The area is characterized by lush vegetation and an extended growing season due in part to its high elevation (1500 m or 4900 ft at the lakeshore) and the volcanic nature of its soil. The Kivu region represents the high point of the
East African Rift Valley.
The lake itself contains a massive amount of
carbon dioxide in its depths, and there is some concern that tectonic activity (
rift
In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics.
Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben wi ...
ing) and/or
volcanic activity might cause a sudden release of this captured carbon dioxide. If this were to happen it would devastate the population around the lake; however, the likelihood of this occurring is in dispute.
Approximate correspondence between historical and current provinces
References
{{Authority control
Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Subdivisions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Regions of Africa by country
Regions of Africa