major tributary of the Nile, joining the Baḥr al-Jabal (“Mountain Nile”) above Malakāl, The Sudan, to form the White Nile (White Nile River). The Sobat is formed by the confluence of its two main headstreams—the Baro and Pibor—on the Ethiopian border, southeast of Nāṣir, The Sudan. Other Ethiopian headstreams include the Jokau, Gilo, and Akobo. From the Baro–Pibor confluence, the river flows about 220 mi (354 km) west-northwest in a series of meanders to its mouth on the Baḥr al-Jabal, receiving two streams, the Khawr Nyanding and Khawr Ful Lus, from the south.

Approaching the Nile, the Sobat deepens to 18–30 ft (5 ¹/₂–9 m) and narrows to 400 ft. Its enormous discharge when in flood (November–December) carries a whitish sediment that gives the White Nile its name. The Sobat and Baro rivers are navigable by steamer (June–December) upstream to Gambela, Eth., and the Sobat–Pibor waterway carries small craft during the same period to Pibor Post, about 130 mi up the Pibor from its junction with the Baro. A ferry crosses the Sobat below the mouth of Khawr Ful Lus. During the dry season, the fall in river level uncovers land used for grazing, thus providing pasturage for the cattle-owning peoples of the region.