{{Short description|Tributary of the Congo River}} {{Infobox river | name = Ubangi River | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = Oubangui | name_etymology = | nickname = <!---------------------- IMAGE--> | image = Ubangi river near Bangui.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = Ubangi River at the outskirts of Bangui | image_alt = <!---------------------- MAPS --> | map = Ubangirivermap.png | map_size = | map_caption = Map showing the Ubangi River drainage basin | map_alt = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= | pushpin_map_alt = <!---------------------- LOCATION --> | subdivision_type1 = | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = <!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS --> | length = {{cvt|1,060|km|mi|abbr=on}} to {{cvt|1,120|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="Satellite-based estimates of surface water dynamics in the Congo River Basin">{{cite journal|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01671764|doi=10.1016/j.jag.2017.11.015 |title=Satellite-based estimates of surface water dynamics in the Congo River Basin |year=2018 |last1=Becker |first1=M. |last2=Papa |first2=F. |last3=Frappart |first3=F. |last4=Alsdorf |first4=D. |last5=Calmant |first5=S. |last6=Da Silva |first6=J. Santos |last7=Prigent |first7=C. |last8=Seyler |first8=F. |journal=International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation |volume=66 |pages=196–209 |bibcode=2018IJAEO..66..196B |s2cid=6873734 }}</ref> | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge2_location= Bangui (550 km upstream of mouth; Basin size: {{cvt|493,266.9|km2|abbr=on}} | discharge2_min = {{cvt|800|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="bossche" /> (Period: 1911–1994){{cvt|930|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Zaire-Bangui">{{cite web|url=https://www.compositerunoff.sr.unh.edu/html/Polygons/P1749100.html|title=Zaire-Bangui}}</ref> | discharge2_avg =(Period: 1971–2000){{cvt|4,004|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Congo River">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=54&catid=215&Itemid=179|title=Congo River}}</ref> (Period: 1911–1994){{cvt|4,092|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Zaire-Bangui">{{cite web|url=https://www.compositerunoff.sr.unh.edu/html/Polygons/P1749100.html|title=Zaire-Bangui}}</ref> {{cvt|4,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="bossche" /> | discharge2_max = {{cvt|11,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="bossche" /> (Period: 1911–1994){{cvt|9,115|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Zaire-Bangui">{{cite web|url=https://www.compositerunoff.sr.unh.edu/html/Polygons/P1749100.html|title=Zaire-Bangui}}</ref> <!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES --> | source1 = Confluence of Uele and Mbomou | source1_location = | source1_coordinates= {{coord|4|7|41.2824|N|22|25|59.682|E}} | source1_elevation = {{cvt|395|m|abbr=on}} | mouth = Congo River | mouth_location = | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|0|30|25.0992|S|17|42|20.4084|E}} | mouth_elevation = {{cvt|294|m|abbr=on}} | progression = Congo → Atlantic Ocean | river_system = Congo River | basin_size = {{cvt|648,280.5|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}<ref name="Congo River">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=54&catid=215&Itemid=179|title=Congo River}}</ref> to {{cvt|651,915|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}<ref name="Satellite-based estimates of surface water dynamics in the Congo River Basin">{{cite journal|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01671764|doi=10.1016/j.jag.2017.11.015 |title=Satellite-based estimates of surface water dynamics in the Congo River Basin |year=2018 |last1=Becker |first1=M. |last2=Papa |first2=F. |last3=Frappart |first3=F. |last4=Alsdorf |first4=D. |last5=Calmant |first5=S. |last6=Da Silva |first6=J. Santos |last7=Prigent |first7=C. |last8=Seyler |first8=F. |journal=International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation |volume=66 |pages=196–209 |bibcode=2018IJAEO..66..196B |s2cid=6873734 }}</ref> | basin_landmarks = | basin_population = | tributaries_left =Uele, Lua, Giri | tributaries_right =Mbomou, Kotto, Ouaka, Mpoko, Lobaye | waterbodies = | waterfalls = | bridges = | ports = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = |discharge1_location =Near mouth |discharge1_min={{cvt|1,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} |discharge1_max={{cvt|15,500|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} |discharge3_location=Yakoma (1,120 km upstream of mouth; Basin size: {{cvt|308,763.1|km2|abbr=on}} |discharge3_avg=(Period: 1971–2000){{cvt|2,799|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Congo River">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=54&catid=215&Itemid=179|title=Congo River}}</ref> |discharge1_avg=(Period: 1971–2000){{cvt|5,630.4|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Congo River">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=54&catid=215&Itemid=179|title=Congo River}}</ref> (Period: 1911–1994){{cvt|5,936|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Satellite-based estimates of surface water dynamics in the Congo River Basin">{{cite journal|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01671764|doi=10.1016/j.jag.2017.11.015 |title=Satellite-based estimates of surface water dynamics in the Congo River Basin |year=2018 |last1=Becker |first1=M. |last2=Papa |first2=F. |last3=Frappart |first3=F. |last4=Alsdorf |first4=D. |last5=Calmant |first5=S. |last6=Da Silva |first6=J. Santos |last7=Prigent |first7=C. |last8=Seyler |first8=F. |journal=International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation |volume=66 |pages=196–209 |bibcode=2018IJAEO..66..196B |s2cid=6873734 }}</ref>}}The '''Ubangi River''' ({{IPAc-en|(|j|)|uː|ˈ|b|æ|ŋ|ɡ|i}}; {{langx|sw|Mto Ubangi}}; {{langx|fr|Fleuve Oubangui}}; {{langx|nl|Mubangi Stroom}}), also spelled '''Oubangui''', is a river in Central Africa, and the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m<sup>3</sup>/s) and Uele Rivers (mean annual discharge 1,550 m<sup>3</sup>/s) and flows west, forming the border between Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Subsequently, the Ubangi bends to the southwest and passes through Bangui, the capital of the CAR, after which it flows south{{snd}}forming the border between the DRC and the Republic of the Congo. The Ubangi finally joins the Congo River at Liranga.

The Ubangi's length is about {{cvt|1,060|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Its total length with the Uele, its longest tributary, is {{cvt|2,270|km|mi|abbr=on}}. The Ubangi's drainage basin is about {{cvt|651,915|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}. Its discharge at Bangui ranges from about {{cvt|800|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} to {{cvt|11,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}, with an average flow of about ~{{cvt|4,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name="bossche">{{cite book |last= Bossche |first= J.P. vanden |author2=G. M. Bernacsek |title= Source Book for the Inland Fishery Resources of Africa, Volume 1 |year= 1990 |publisher= Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |isbn= 978-92-5-102983-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WLZRxM9vfXoC&pg=PA338 |page= 338}}</ref> Its mean annual discharge at the mouth is around ~{{cvt|6,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Satellite-based estimates of surface water dynamics in the Congo River Basin" /> It is believed that the Ubangi's upper reaches originally flowed into the Chari River and Lake Chad before being captured by the Congo in the early Pleistocene.<ref>See Cooper, John E. and Hull, Gordon; ''Gorilla Pathology and Health: With a Catalogue of Preserved Materials'', p. 371 {{ISBN|9780128020395}}</ref>

Together with the Congo River, it provides an important transport artery for river boats between Bangui and Brazzaville. From its source to {{cvt|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} below Bangui, the Ubangi defines the boundary between the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Thereafter, it forms the boundary between the DRC and the Republic of Congo until it empties into the Congo River.

thumb|left|Transaqua scheme (in red)

== Lake Chad replenishment project == {{Main|Lake Chad replenishment project}} In the 1960s,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ley |first1=Willy |title=Engineers' Dreams Great Projects That COULD Come True |date=1960 |publisher=Viking Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Zarembka |first1=David |title=Refilling Lake Chad With Water From The Congo River Using Solar Power |url=https://cleantechnica.com/2019/06/24/refilling-lake-chad-with-water-from-the-congo-river-using-solar-power/ |access-date=25 June 2019 |work=Cleantechnica |date=24 June 2019}}</ref> a plan was proposed to divert waters from the Ubangi to the Chari River. According to the plan, named Transaqua, the water from the Ubangi would revitalize Lake Chad and provide a livelihood in fishing and enhanced agriculture to tens of millions of central Africans and Sahelians. Inter-basin water transfer schemes were proposed in the 1980s and 1990s by Nigerian engineer J.{{nbsp}}Umolu and the Italian firm Bonifica.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hydroweb.com/jeh/jeh1999/bunu.pdf|title=Journal of Environmental Hydrology, Vol. 7, 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12917615.500|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331234016/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12917615.500|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-03-31|title=Africa at a watershed|author=Fred Pearce}}</ref><ref>Umolu, J. C.; 1990, Macro Perspectives for Nigeria’s Water Resources Planning, Proc. of the First Biennial National Hydrology Symposium, Maiduguri, Nigeria, pp. 218–262 (discussion of Ubangi-Lake Chad diversion schemes)</ref><ref>The Changing Geography of Africa and the Middle East By Graham Chapman, Kathleen M. Baker, University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, 1992 Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-05709-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dwb.unl.edu/Teacher/NSF/C09/C09Links/www.ccnet.com/~mcumolu/globclim.html|title=Combating Climate Induced Water And Energy Deficiencies In West Central Africa (Ubangi – Lake Chad Inter-basin transfer)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526135224/http://dwb.unl.edu/Teacher/NSF/C09/C09Links/www.ccnet.com/~mcumolu/globclim.html|archive-date=2011-05-26}}</ref>

In 1994, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) proposed a similar project, and at a March 2008 summit the heads of state of the LCBC member countries committed to the diversion project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-28-voa33.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401153145/http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-28-voa33.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 1, 2008|title=Voice of America News, March 28, 2008 African Leaders Team Up to Rescue Lake Chad}}</ref> In April 2008, the LCBC advertised a request for proposals for a feasibility study.

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070515071343/http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/water-resources/map-293.html Map showing the Ubangi Subbasin at World Resources Institute] * [https://www.cicos.int/ International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Bassin] {{coord|0|30|S|17|42|E|display=title}}

{{Rivers of the Republic of the Congo}} {{Rivers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo}} {{Rivers of the Central African Republic}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Ubangi River Category:Central African Republic–Democratic Republic of the Congo border Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo–Republic of the Congo border Category:International rivers of Africa Category:Border rivers Category:Rivers of the Central African Republic Category:Rivers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Category:Rivers of the Republic of the Congo Category:Tributaries of the Congo River Category:Lowest points of countries