headstream of the Congo River. Its 1,100-mile (1,800-kilometre) course lies entirely within Congo (Kinshasa), central Africa. It rises on the Katanga (Shaba) plateau at about 4,600 feet (1,400 m), near Musofi, Congo. Its upper course descends to the Manika Plateau and is marked by falls and rapids. Its drop to the Kamolondo Trough (1,500 feet in 45 miles 【457 m in 72 km】) is harnessed for generating hydroelectric power at Nzilo Dam, near Nzilo Falls (formerly Delcommune Falls).

In the trough the Lualaba becomes navigable at Bukama for 400 miles (644 km). During this stretch the river expands into a series of marshy lakes (including Upemba and Kisale) that are periodically flooded and encumbered with papyrus and floating vegetation. Tributaries include the Lufira, Luvua, and Lukuga rivers.

Below Kongola the river enters a deep, narrow gorge, the Portes d'Enfer, in which navigation is impossible. The river is thereafter navigable for 68 miles 【109 km】 between Kasongo and Kibombo but is again broken by rapids to Kindu-Port-Empain. Although the final stretch of river between Kindu-Port-Empain and Boyoma (formerly Stanley) Falls is periodically shallow and lined with rocky bluffs, it can be negotiated by boats. The seven cataracts of Boyoma Falls mark the end of the Lualaba and the beginning of the Congo River proper.