The Ruvubu River (also spelt Rurubu and Ruvuvu) is a river in central Africa whose waters gather from the most distant, southern portion of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

basin. With a total length of and has a drainage basin of . It rises in the north of

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

, near the town of Kayanza and then does a southward arc through Burundi, being joined by the Ruvyironza River near

Gitega Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the political capital of Burundi. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of Bujumbura (the largest city and former political capital), Gitega (the second largest city ...

. From there it runs northeast, through the Ruvubu National Park, up to the

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

n border. After a stretch along the border, the Ruvubu crosses properly into Tanzania, before joining the Nyabarongo River on the Tanzania– Rwanda border near Rusumo Falls, to form the Kagera River. The Ruvubu gets its name from the

Kirundi Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language spoken by some 9 million people in Burundi and adjacent parts of Rwanda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, as well as in Kenya. It is the official language of Burundi. Kir ...

word for hippopatamus, imvubu, because the river is home to a large population of hippos.

References

Rivers of Burundi Rivers of Tanzania Kagera River International rivers of Africa Burundi–Tanzania border Border rivers {{Tanzania-river-stub