The Kwilu River (Portuguese: Rio Cuílo; French: Rivière Kwilu; Dutch: Kwilu Rivier) is a major river in both Lunda Norte Province and Lunda Sul Province in Angola as well as Kwilu Province, formerly known as Bandundu province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the city of Bandundu, where it joins the Kwango River just before this stream enters the Kasai River. In the DRC the river flows past the towns of Gungu, Kikwit, Bulungu, Bagata, Rutherfordia and Bandundu. Lusanga, formerly Leverville, lies at the location where the Kwenge River joins the Kwilu, between Kikwit and Bulungu.

Characteristics

It is a meandering river. Near its mouth it is 950 meters wide. The bed material is sand. The river is about 965 km long. In the wet season the flooded area covers 1550 km2. The headwaters of the river rise at elevations between 1000 m and 1800 m in the Angolan highlands. They drop steeply to the flat central Congo Basin at between 500 m and 300 m above sea level. A 2011 survey found 113 species of fish in 21 families and eight orders.

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