Pangani River
| Pangani River | |
|---|---|
Pangani River in Bushiri ward. | |
Map of River Pangani | |
| Native name | Mto Pangani (Swahili) |
| Location | |
| Country | Tanzania |
| Region | Tanga Region, Arusha Region, Manyara Region, Kilimanjaro Region |
| District | Arusha District Council, Meru District, Arusha City Council, Hai District, Moshi District, Mwanga District, Same District, Korogwe District, Korogwe Town, Muheza District, Pangani District, |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Arusha District, Arusha Region |
| Mouth | |
• location | Indian Ocean at the town of Pangani, Pangani District, Tanga Region |
| Length | 500km |
| Basin size | 43,650 km2 (16,850 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 27 m3/s (950 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Mkomazi; Luengera |
| • right | Lumoromo; Fukda; Mkalami |
The Pangani River (Mto Pangani, in Swahili), (also called Luffu and Jipe Ruvu, especially in older sources, and probably once called Rhaptus) is a major river of northeastern Tanzania. It has two main sources: the Ruvu, which rises as Lumi at Kilimanjaro, passes through Lake Jipe, and empties into the Nyumba ya Mungu Reservoir, and the Kikuletwa River, coming from the west and mainly fed by rivers of Mount Meru in Arusha Region, which also enters into the Nyumba ya Mungu Reservoir in Kilimanjaro Region. Just after leaving the reservoir the stream becomes the main Pangani, which empties into the Indian Ocean in Tanga Region at the Tangan port town of Pangani.
For much of its length the river flows along the regional borders of Kilimanjaro Region and Manyara Region, before flowing into Tanga Region, which contains the 68 MW Pangani Power Station and the Pangani Falls Dam. There are several inhabited islands within the river. The river is full of crocodiles; hippopotami are scarcer in its lower parts.