The Chinko River (or Shinko River) is a river of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. It is a right tributary of the

Mbomou River The Mbomou River or Bomu (also spelled M'bomou in French) forms part of the boundary between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mbomou merges with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. The ...

Environment

The upper reaches of the Chinko river define the border between the

Haute-Kotto Haute-Kotto (, "Upper Kotto") is one of the 20 prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdiv ...

and

Haut-Mbomou Haut-Mbomou (, "Upper Mbomou") is one of the 20 prefectures of the Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the n ...

prefectures. For most of its length it flows in a SSW direction through

Mbomou Mbomou is one of the twenty prefectures of the Central African Republic Since 10 December 2020, The Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central ...

prefecture to its convergence with the

. The Mbomou plateau has an elevation of , slightly inclined to the south, on the Asande rise between the

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

depression to the north and the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...

to the south. The Chinko Nature Reserve is a protected area in the Chinko River basin. It covers . It is managed by the nonprofit conservation organization

African Parks African Parks is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on biodiversity conservation through protected area management, established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded as the African Parks Management and ...

as part of a fifty-year

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sectors, private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Revie ...

with the Ministry of Water, Forest, Hunting and Fishing.

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called painted dog and Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lycaon'', which is disti ...

s have been documented in the south of the CAR in the Chinko/

Mbari The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard, and is primarily funded by the David and Lucile Packard F ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

in 2013.

History

Around 1800 Kassanga, a Bandia leader, founded a kingdom in the Shinko valley, later called the Rafai kingdom. Kassanga was the great-grandfather of

Sultan Rafai Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used ...

. The Belgian officer Charles Kéthule de Ryove (1865–1903) was assigned to the Upper Uele expedition in August 1891. In March 1892 he explored the region between the Mbomou and Shinko rivers. He met Sultan Rafai, who declared his allegiance to the Congo Free State. Kéthule de Ryove was resident at Rafai's court from 1892 to 1894. He wrote in an 1895 article ''Le sultanat de Rafaï'' (''Le Congo illustré'') that almost all the inhabitants could speak Arabic, including the sultan, chiefs and soldiers. In 1894 the Belgian

Léon Hanolet Léon-Charles-Édouard Hanolet (25 November 1859 – 1 December 1908) was a Belgian soldier, explorer and colonial administrator. He is known for his explorations in 1894–1895 in what is now the Central African Republic, which led to an agreement ...

ascended the

Mbari River The Mbari River is a river of the Central African Republic. It is a right tributary of the Mbomou River not far to the north of where the Mbomou joins the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. Environment The Mbari River is the main drainage axis ...

, another tributary of the Bomu, while

Théodore Nilis Théodore Victor Edouard Adolphe Arthur Nilis (27 June 1851 – 23 April 1905) was a Belgian soldier and colonial official. Early years (1851–1881) Théodore Victor Edouard Adolphe Arthur Nilis was born in Brilow, Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussi ...

ascended the Chinko River.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{authority control Rivers of the Central African Republic