Ulanga
Encyclopedia
Ulanga is the name of a river and one of the 6 districts of the Morogoro Region
of Tanzania
. It is bordered to the North and West by the Kilombero District
, to the East by the Lindi Region
and to the South by the Ruvuma Region
.
According to the 2002 Tanzania National Census, the population of the Ulanga District was 194,209.
meeting up with the Luwegu where they merge at the Shuguli Falls to become the Rufiji River
. The Rufiji then flows northeast through the Selous Game Reserve
on its way to the Indian Ocean
.
From 1885, Karl Peters
had begun claiming areas of East Africa
for Germany. The Tanganyika
n coast proved relatively easy, but conquest of the inland areas of the colony - right up to the Belgian Congo
- was more difficult as large parts were still unexplored. For this reason, Governor
Gustav Adolf von Götzen
led an expedition to claim these hinterlands. He took with him Georg von Prittwitz and Hermann Kersting.
The Ulanga river and of its tributary the Kihansi
were first surveyed in 1897-98 by von Prittwitz in an attempt to determine whether either river would afford a navigable waterway from the coast to the mountainous district of Uhehe. From Perondo von Prittwitz navigated the Kihansi in a canoe, determining that the Kihansi was too difficult to navigate due to the great number of sharp curves with narrow channel obstructed by hippopotami
. The Ulanga with its broad smooth curves was easy to navigate by a light-draught steamer.
and its subsequent film adaptation was a steam-powered launch, owned by a Belgian mining corporation, that plied the upper reaches of the Ulanga River.
Animal painter Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert
featured the Ulanga River
in his painting The Gallery of Trees Ulanga River.
Morogoro Region
Morogoro Region is one of the regions of Tanzania. Its capital is Morogoro. It is bordered to the North by the Tanga Region, to the East by the Pwani and Lindi Regions, to the South by the Ruvuma Region and to the West by the Iringa and Dodoma Regions....
of Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. It is bordered to the North and West by the Kilombero District
Kilombero
Kilombero is the name of a river and a district in Morogoro Region, south-western Tanzania.The district is situated in a vast floodplain, between the Kilombero river in the south-east and the Udzungwa-Mountains in the north-west...
, to the East by the Lindi Region
Lindi Region
Lindi is one of Tanzania's 26 administrative regions. The regional capital is also called Lindi.The Lindi region borders on Pwani, Morogoro, Ruvuma, and Mtwara. Much of the western part of the region is in the Selous Game Reserve....
and to the South by the Ruvuma Region
Ruvuma Region
Ruvuma is a region in Tanzania. It is named after the Ruvuma River which forms most of its southern boundary with Mozambique. It is also bordered to the North by the Morogoro Region, to the Northeast by the Lindi Region, to the East by the Mtwara Region and to the Northwest by the Iringa Region. ...
.
According to the 2002 Tanzania National Census, the population of the Ulanga District was 194,209.
Wards
| Biro | Itete | Malinyi | Ngoheranga |
| Chirombola | Kichangani | Mbuga | Ruaha |
| Euga | Kilosa Mpepo | Minepa | Sali |
| Ilonga | Lukande | Msogezi | Sofi |
| Iragua | Lupiro | Mtimbira | Usangule |
| Isongo | Lupiro | Mwaya | Vigoi |
The River
The Ulanga (Kilombero) River starts in the southwest of the country on the eastern slope of the East African RiftEast African Rift
The East African Rift is an active continental rift zone in eastern Africa that appears to be a developing divergent tectonic plate boundary. It is part of the larger Great Rift Valley. The rift is a narrow zone in which the African Plate is in the process of splitting into two new tectonic plates...
meeting up with the Luwegu where they merge at the Shuguli Falls to become the Rufiji River
Rufiji River
The Rufiji River lies entirely within the African nation of Tanzania. The river is formed by the convergence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately 600 km long, with its source in southwestern Tanzania and its mouth on the Indian Ocean at a point between Mafia Island called Mafia...
. The Rufiji then flows northeast through the Selous Game Reserve
Selous Game Reserve
The Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest faunal reserves of the world, located in the south of Tanzania. It was named after Englishman Sir Frederick Selous, a famous big game hunter and early conservationist, who died at Beho Beho in this territory in 1917 while fighting against the Germans...
on its way to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
From 1885, Karl Peters
Karl Peters
Karl Peters , was a German colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author, the prime mover behind the foundation of the German colony of East Africa...
had begun claiming areas of East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
for Germany. The Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
n coast proved relatively easy, but conquest of the inland areas of the colony - right up to the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
- was more difficult as large parts were still unexplored. For this reason, Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Gustav Adolf von Götzen
Gustav Adolf von Götzen
Count Gustav Adolf von Götzen was a German explorer and Governor of German East Africa. He was the second European to set foot in Rwanda, after Dr Oscar Baumann, and later presided over the bloody quashing of the Maji Maji Rebellion in what is now Tanzania.- Early life :Götzen studied law at the...
led an expedition to claim these hinterlands. He took with him Georg von Prittwitz and Hermann Kersting.
The Ulanga river and of its tributary the Kihansi
Kihansi Dam
Kihansi Dam is a hydroelectric dam located on the Kihansi River at the end of the Kihansi Gorge before the convergence with the Ulanga River in Tanzania approximately 450 km southwest of the capital Dar Es Salaam.-Kihansi Dam:...
were first surveyed in 1897-98 by von Prittwitz in an attempt to determine whether either river would afford a navigable waterway from the coast to the mountainous district of Uhehe. From Perondo von Prittwitz navigated the Kihansi in a canoe, determining that the Kihansi was too difficult to navigate due to the great number of sharp curves with narrow channel obstructed by hippopotami
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
. The Ulanga with its broad smooth curves was easy to navigate by a light-draught steamer.
In popular culture
The eponymous boat in C.S. Forester's novel The African QueenThe African Queen (novel)
The African Queen is a 1935 novel written by C. S. Forester, which was adapted to the 1951 film with the same name.-Plot summary:The story opens in mid-1914. Rose Sayer, a 33-year-old English woman, is the companion and housekeeper of her brother Samuel, an Anglican missionary in Central Africa...
and its subsequent film adaptation was a steam-powered launch, owned by a Belgian mining corporation, that plied the upper reaches of the Ulanga River.
Animal painter Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert
Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert
Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert was a German painter, author and illustrator, who specialized in animal images.-Personal life:...
featured the Ulanga River
Ulanga River
The Ulanga River, also known as the Kilombero River, is a river that starts in the southwest of Tanzania on the eastern slope of the East African Rift that flows northeast into the Rufiji River then to the Indian Ocean.-Geology:...
in his painting The Gallery of Trees Ulanga River.