Boyoma Falls, formerly known as Stanley Falls, consists of seven cataracts, each no more than 15' high, extending over more than 100 km (62.1 mi) along a curve of the Lualaba River

Lualaba River

The Lualaba River is the greatest headstream of the Congo River by volume of water. However, by length the Chambeshi River is the farthest headstream. The Lualaba is 1800 km long, running from near Musofi in the vicinity of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province. The whole of its length lies within the...

 between the river port towns of Ubundu

Ubundu

Ubundu, formerly known as Ponthierville or Ponthierstad, is a city located in Tshopo District in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is on the Congo River, just above the Boyoma Falls...

 and Kisangani

Kisangani

Kisangani is the capital of Orientale Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the 3rd largest urbanized city in the country and the largest of the cities that lie in the tropical woodlands of the Congo....

/Boyoma in the Orientale region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

.

At the bottom of the rapids, the Lualaba becomes the Congo River

Congo River

The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...

. The seven cataracts have a total drop of 61 meters (200 feet). The two major cataracts are the first below Ubundu, forming a narrow and crooked stream that is hardly accessible, and the last that can easily be seen and also be visited from Kisangani.

A 1000mm portage railway

Portage railway

A portage railway is a short and possibly isolated section of railway used to bypass a section of unnavigable river or between two water bodies which are not directly connected...

bypasses the series of rapids, connecting Kisangani and Ubundu.

Especially among french speakers the cataracts are also known as Wagenia Falls (chûtes Wagenia), referring to the local people of fishermen named Wagenia or Wagenya who have developed a special technique to fish in the river. They build systems of wooden tripods across the rapids fixed in holes carved in the rock by the water current. They serve as anchors for baskets that entrap large fish.