The Nile's most distant source (Kagera: Burundi or Rwanda)
Fuente más lejana del Nilo (Kagera: Burundi o Ruanda)
- Date
- 1934-2006 (disputa) · confidence low
- Place
- Rutovu, Bururi, Burundi
- Credited to
- German explorers of the 1930s (Waldecker) and a 2006 expedition
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Search for the Nile's most distant spring, upstream of Lake Victoria, in the Kagera-Ruvubu system, between the hills of Burundi and Rwanda's Nyungwe Forest. Identifying it determines the length of Africa's longest river.
There are two candidates: Kasumo (Rutovu, Burundi), identified in the 1930s, and the Rukarara (Nyungwe, Rwanda), defended by a 2006 expedition. The choice depends on hydrographic criteria (length, permanent flow) and there is no consensus. Dates and coordinates approximate.
What it led to
- measuring the Nile's length and the debate with the Amazon
- monuments and tourism at Rutovu
- mapping of the upper Kagera basin