Ruo River is the largest

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...

in southern

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. It originates from the Mulanje Massif (Malawi) and forms of the Malawi-Mozambique border. It joins the Shire River at Chiromo. The Ruo River watershed includes the southern slopes of the

Mulanje Mulanje, formerly called Mlanje, is a town in the Southern Region, Malawi, Southern Region of Malawi, close to the border with Mozambique, to the east. It is near the Mulanje Massif. History A mission was established here and it was at first on ...

Massif and Shire Highlands in Malawi. Its principal tributary is the Thuchila (or Tuchila) River, which drains the southwestern slopes of Mulanje and the southeastern slopes of the Shire Highlands and the Thuchila plain between them. The confluence of the Ruo and Thuchila is near Sandama. The Ruo and its left bank tributaries also drain a portion of Milange District in neighboring Mozambique. Zoa Falls (16°18'27"S 35°17'10"E) has a 60-meter drop, and effectively isolates the fish populations upstream in the Ruo watershed from those of the lower

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

and

Shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

rivers.Tweddle, Denis. "Mulanje". ''Freshwater Ecoregions of the World''. Accessed 17 August 2019

The Shire Highlands Railway follows the lower course of the Ruo between Sandama and Chiromo.

Ruo River screeching frog

Frog '' Arthroleptis francei'' was first collected from near the Ruo River on the slopes of the Mulanje Massif. One of its common names is Ruo River screeching frog. Its other common name, France's squeaker, as well as its

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''francei'' carry a tragic history. Mr. F. H. France was a young forestry officer who perished in trying to cross the Ruo River close to where ''Arthroleptis francei'' were first collected.

Arthur Loveridge Arthur Loveridge (28 May 1891 – 16 February 1980) was a British people, British biologist and Herpetology, herpetologist who wrote about animals of East Africa, particularly Tanzania, and of New Guinea. He gave Binomial nomenclature, scientific ...

, the scientist who described the species, named it after France so that "his name may be linked with the forests he sought to preserve on the mountain he loved so well." Despite its connection with river though its history and naming, this frog is a terrestrial species living in leaf litter.

References

Shire River Rivers of Malawi Rivers of Mozambique Tributaries of the Zambezi River International rivers of Africa {{Mozambique-river-stub