The Malagarasi River is a river in western

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, flowing through

Kigoma Region Kigoma Region (''Mkoa wa Kigoma'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions, with the city of Kigoma as the regional capital. Kigoma Region borders Kagera Region, Geita Region, Katavi Regio ...

, although one of its tributaries comes from southeastern

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. The river also forms the western border of

Tabora Region Tabora Region (''Mkoa wa Tabora'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions located in mid-western part of Tanzania. The regional capital is the municipality of Tabora. Tabora is bordered ...

, the southern border of

Kagera Region Kagera Region (''Mkoa wa Kagera'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 Regions of Tanzania, administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the land area of the Netherlands. Kagera Reg ...

and the southwestern border of

Geita Region Geita Region (''Mkoa wa Geita'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 Regions of Tanzania, administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of ...

. It is the second-longest river in Tanzania behind the Rufiji— Great Ruaha, and has the largest watershed of any river flowing into

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...

. The Malagarasi-Muyovozi Wetlands are a designated a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Geography

The Malagarasi is the second-longest river in Tanzania, at . The source of the river is near the Tanzania-Burundi border. The first of the river form the international boundary between Tanzania and

. Several tributaries from the Burundi highlands join its right bank. After the confluence with the Lumpungu River, the Malagarasi enters Tanzania, makes a circle and empties into the eastern side of Lake Tanganyika about south of

Kigoma Kigoma is a city and lake port in Kigoma-Ujiji District in Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma ...

, near Ilagala. It is one of the lake's primary inflows. Moyowosi River is the principal tributary, along with its affluent the Nikongo River; other tributaries include Ugalla River, Gombe River, Ruchugi River, Lumpungu River, and Nguya River. It is characterized as a low stream river, and its drainage includes four

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of flora (plants), plants and fauna (animals), animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term habitat (ecology), "habitat", which ...

s: swampy areas, river channels, a flowing river with a few moderate rapids, and a large double-branched delta. The flow of the river ranges dramatically between the annual cycle of wet and dry seasons, and at times may be susceptible to flooding or reduced to a small stream; flow is also affected by local agriculture and deforestation which increase the level of sediments within the river. At Mberagule, the flow of the river has been gauged to be 6.9 cubic kilometers per year. About from the mouth, the river flows through the Moyowosi swamplands, an area of "extensive swamps and floodplains" and a "marshy labyrinth". It passes through the Dodoma Belt, a geological area of Archaean and Proterozoic age Precambrian crystalline rocks.

Watershed

With a basin area of , the Malagarasi has the largest watershed of all of the rivers flowing into

. The Malagarasi watershed constitutes 30% of the Lake Tanganyika's total watershed area. The Malagarasi watershed is bounded on the north by the watershed of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

, on the east by the

closed basin Closed may refer to: Mathematics * Closure (mathematics), a set, along with operations, for which applying those operations on members always results in a member of the set * Closed set, a set which contains all its limit points * Closed interval, ...

of the

Southern Eastern Rift The Southern Eastern Rift is a freshwater ecoregion in Kenya and Tanzania. It occupies the southern end of the Gregory Rift, Eastern Rift Valley, or Gregory Rift, and includes a number of closed or endorheic basins which drain into central lakes w ...

, to the south by the closed basin of

Lake Rukwa Lake Rukwa is an endorheic lake located in the Rukwa Valley of Rukwa Region, Songwe Region and Katavi Region in southwestern Tanzania. The lake is the third largest inland body of water in the country. Geography The alkaline Lake Rukwa lies ...

, and to the east by Lake Tanganyika. Most of the basin is

miombo woodland Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located in central and southern tropical Africa. It includes three woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) charac ...

, with ''

Brachystegia spiciformis ''Brachystegia spiciformis'', commonly known as zebrawood (not the genuine zebrawood, ''Microberlinia brazzavillensis''), or msasa (spelled as ''masasa''), is a medium-sized African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant gree ...

'' and ''

Julbernardia globiflora ''Julbernardia globiflora'' is a tropical African tree widespread at moderate altitudes in Miombo woodland to the south and east of the equatorial forest region of the Congo Basin. Its common name is mnondo. It is ecologically important over wid ...

'' as the dominant trees. There are extensive areas of flooded grassland in the central Malagarasi-Moyowosi basin, and along the middle Ugalla River to the southwest.

History

According to ecologist Rosemary Lowe-McConnell, "the Malagarasi and the Rungwa River are assumed to be relict headwaters of the extended pre-

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 ...

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

system". The Malagarasi pre-dates Lake Tanganyika and was in pre-

times a tributary of the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

to its west. Lake Tanganyika has since said to have "undergone both transgression and regression, depositing new sediments, altering the delta, and changing the course of the river". Over its history, the lake level has altered dramatically between ; historical accounts from the late nineteenth century indicate that it was about higher than it is today.

Culture

Local tribes have nicknamed the Malagarasi as "the river of bad spirits". In the late 19th century, the Wavinza people, who ran the river's

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

service from the left bank, avoided assimilation with the Wanyamwezi people because of the natural barrier formed by the Malagarasi. Also on the other bank were the Wangoni (Watutu Zulus).

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...

, who considered

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

important to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

's "civilizing process", stated that missionaries could follow the Malagarasi and participate in "conversion-tours to

Uvinza Uvinza is one of the eight administrative districts of Kigoma Region in Tanzania. Uvinza is bordered to the northwest by Kigoma District and Kigoma-Ujiji District. North of the district is bordered by Kasulu District . Lake Tanganyika borders ...

, Uha, and Ugala".

Flora and fauna

The tree species in the Malagarasi basin include ''

Albizia gummifera ''Albizia gummifera'' is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae, native to sub-saharan Africa and Madagascar, and naturalized in Brazil. It is also known as peacock flower. It is recognisable as a very large deciduous, flat-topped tree reach ...

'', ''

Bridelia micrantha ''Bridelia micrantha'', the mitzeeri or the coastal golden-leaf, is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae and is native to tropical and southern Africa as well as to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Description A medium to tall tree (u ...

'', ''

Cyperus papyrus ''Cyperus papyrus'', better known by the common names papyrus, papyrus sedge, paper reed, Indian matting plant, or Nile grass, is a species of aquatic plant, aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is a Hardiness (pla ...

'', ''

Diospyros mespiliformis ''Diospyros mespiliformis'', the jackalberry (also known as African ebony and by its Afrikaans name jakkalsbessie), is a large dioecious evergreen tree found mostly in the savannas of Africa. Jackals are fond of the fruit, hence the common names ...

'', ''

Ficus sycomorus ''Ficus sycomorus'', called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry (because the leaves resemble those of the mulberry), sycamore, or sycomore, is a ficus, fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times. Etymology and naming The spec ...

'', ''

Ficus verruculosa ''Ficus verruculosa'', the water fig, is a species of fig from sub-saharan Africa. It is found from north eastern South Africa, northern Botswana and Namibia to Uganda and west to Nigeria in riverine and swamp fringes or grassland, always near ...

'', ''

Isoberlinia ''Isoberlinia'' is a genus in the family Fabaceae of five species of tree native to the hotter parts of tropical Africa. They are an important component of miombo woodlands. The leaves have three or four pairs of large leaflets and stout seed po ...

'' spp., ''

Khaya senegalensis ''Khaya senegalensis'' is a species of tree in the Meliaceae family that is native to Africa. Common names include African mahogany, dry zone mahogany, Gambia mahogany, khaya wood, Senegal mahogany, ''cailcedrat'', ''acajou'', ''djalla'', and '' ...

'', ''

Parkia filicoidea ''Parkia filicoidea'', or African locust bean ('filicoidea' - fern-like foliage), is a large, spreading flat-crowned tree to 30 metres tall, the bole of which may be narrowly buttressed to a height of about 3 metres, and up to 120 cm DBH. I ...

'', ''

Phoenix reclinata ''Phoenix reclinata'' (''reclinata'' - Latin, reclining), the wild date palm or Senegal date palm, is a species of flowering plant in the Arecaceae, palm family native to tropical Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Madagascar. It is introduced in ...

'', '' Syzygium cordatum'', and '' Syzygium owariense''. The prominent grasses in the valley grasslands are species of ''

Hyparrhenia ''Hyparrhenia'' is a genus of grasses. Many species are known commonly as thatching grass. They are mostly native to tropical Africa; some can be found in warmer areas in temperate Eurasia, Australia, and Latin America. These are annual and per ...

'', ''

Themeda ''Themeda'' is a genus of plants in the grass family native to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Papuasia. There are about 18Barkworth, M. E''Themeda''.Grass Manual. Flora of North America. to 26Potdar, G. G., et al. (2003)A new species of ''Themeda'' ...

'', and ''

Echinochloa ''Echinochloa'' is a very widespread genus of plants in the grass family and tribe Paniceae. Some of the species are known by the common names barnyard grass or cockspur grass. Some of the species within this genus are millets that are grown ...

''. The

Malagarasi sardine The Malagarasi sardine (''Engraulicypris spinifer''Riddin, M.A., Bills, I.R. & Villet, M.H. (2016)Phylogeographic, morphometric and taxonomic re-evaluation of the river sardine, ''Mesobola brevianalis'' (Boulenger, 1908) (Teleostei, Cyprinidae, C ...

(''Mesobola spinifer'') is endemic to the river. The Malagarasi contains several fish species which occur in the Congo River Basin but not in Lake Tanganyika. Giant freshwater

Mbu pufferfish The Mbu pufferfish, also known as Mbuna pufferfish, giant pufferfish, or giant freshwater pufferfish (''Tetraodon mbu''), is a carnivorous freshwater pufferfish originating from the middle and lower sections of the Congo River in Africa, as wel ...

, however, occur in both the Central and Upper Zaire Basin and the Malagarasi River.

Malagarasi-Muyovozi Wetlands

The Malagarasi-Muyovozi Wetlands lie in the middle of the basin, at 1200 meters elevation at the confluence of the Malagarasi with the Gombe, Muyovozi, Ugalla, and other tributary rivers. The wetland includes of dry-season lakes and open water including Sagara and Nyamagoma lakes, and of permanent papyrus swamp. Seasonally-flooded grasslands on the surrounding floodplain vary seasonally and with annual rainfall, and can cover up to . The papyrus swamps are dominated by the sedge ''

'' and the grass ''

Oryza barthii ''Oryza barthii'', also called Barth's rice, wild rice, or African wild rice, is a grass in the rice genus ''Oryza''. It is an annual, erect to semierect grass. It has leaves with a short ligule (<), and

Hyparrhenia rufa ''Hyparrhenia rufa'' is a species of Poaceae, grass known by the common names jaraguá,Echinochloa pyramidalis'', with ''Hyparrhenia'' dominant in the least-flooded areas, ''Echinochloa'' in more frequently-flooded areas, and '' Vossia'' nearest the permanent wetlands. The middle and upper reaches of the Ugalla River include a seasonally-inundated floodplain long and up to wide. The floodplain supports extensive grasslands, dominated by the grasses '' Echinochloa haploclada,

Themeda triandra } ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and ...

Setaria ''Setaria'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. The name is derived from the Latin word ''seta'', meaning "bristle" or "hair", which refers to the bristly spikelets. The genus includes over 100 species distributed in many t ...

spp.,

Andropogon ''Andropogon'' (common names: beard grass, bluestem grass, broomsedge) is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to much of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as Southern Europe and various oceanic islands. Over 100 speci ...

spp.,

Eragrostis ''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. ''Eragrostis'' is commonly known as lovegrass or canegrass. The name of the genus is de ...

spp.,

Digitaria ''Digitaria'' is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and warm temperate regions but can occur in tropical, subtropical, and cooler temperate regions as well. Common names include crabgrass, finger-grass, and fonio. They ar ...

spp''., and ''

Sporobolus ''Sporobolus'' is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name ''Sporobolus'' means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word (), meaning "seed", and the root of () "to throw", referring to the dispersion of ...

'' spp. The floodplains include scattered trees including '' Combretum fragrans, C. obovatum'' and '' C. purpureiflorum'', groves of the palm ''

Borassus aethiopum ''Borassus aethiopum'' is a species of '' Borassus'' palm from Africa. In English, it is variously referred to as African fan palm, African palmyra palm, deleb palm, ron palm, toddy palm, black rhun palm, rônier palm (from the French). It is wid ...

'', and small patches of closed-canopy forest on large termite mounds. Vulnerable and endangered animals in the wetland include

Shoebill The shoebill (''Balaeniceps rex''), also known as the whale-headed stork, and shoe-billed stork, is a large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has pre ...

(''Balaeniceps rex''),

Wattled crane The wattled crane (''Grus carunculata'') is a large, threatened species of crane found in wetlands and grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Ethiopia to South Africa. Some authorities consider it the sole member of the genus ...

(''Bugeranus carunculatus''),

African bush elephant The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of three extant elephant species and, along with the African forest elephant, one ...

''(Loxodonta africana)'',

Sitatunga The sitatunga (''Tragelaphus spekii'') or marshbuck is a swamp-dwelling medium-sized antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of South Sudan, Southern ...

(''Tragalephus spekii'') and

Central African slender-snouted crocodile The Central African slender-snouted crocodile (''Mecistops leptorhynchus'') is one of two species of crocodiles in the genus ''Mecistops''. It was once thought to be a population of the West African slender-snouted crocodile (''Mecistops cataphr ...

(''Mecistops leptorhynchus''). The wetlands are home to 50 species of fish, including the Dark stonebasher (''Pollimyrus nigricans'') and various endangered, endemic, and food species.Director of Wildlife, Wildlife Division of the United Republic of Tanzania (1999). "The Malagarasi-Muyovozi Wetlands". Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands, 21-08-1999. Accessed 18 September 2019

/ref>

Waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus ''Kobus (antelope), Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first Scientific description, described by Irish naturalist Will ...

(''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') and

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

(''Hippopotamus amphibius'') are common in the wetlands. Concerns have been raised over hippo poaching in the river basin by the Wanyahosa people, who prefer the meat over fish.

Protected areas

The Malagarasi-Muyovozi Wetlands became a designated a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

It is the country's first Ramsar Site. At it is the world's third-largest Ramsar Site.

References

External links

Photographs on flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malagarasi River Rivers of Tanzania Rivers of Burundi Burundi–Tanzania border Central Zambezian miombo woodlands Geography of Kigoma Region International rivers of Africa Tributaries of Lake Tanganyika Ramsar sites in Tanzania Zambezian flooded grasslands