Luapula Province

Luapula
Province

Luapula Province showing its districts
Country  Zambia
Capital Mansa
Area
  Total 50,567 km2 (19,524 sq mi)
Population (2015)
  Total 1,127,453
  Density 22/km2 (58/sq mi)

Luapula Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces, and is located in the north of the country. The provincial capital is Mansa. Luapula Province was named after the Luapula River.

It extends along the northern and eastern banks of the river from Lake Bangweulu to Lake Mweru, including waters and islands of those lakes, and is inhabited by Bemba-speaking peoples (including the Lunda, Kabende, Aushi, Chishinga and Bemba). The major economic activity is fishing. The chief artery of the province is the Samfya-Mansa-Mwansabombwe-Nchelenge highway known informally as the Zambia Way.

The province is bordered along the Luapula River, through Lake Mweru and to its north by DR Congo which at times has led to disputes and conflict. The Congo Pedicle comes between the province and the industrial and commercial heartland of the Copperbelt which has caused problems partly resolved by construction of the Luapula Bridge and the Samfya-Serenje road, and being further alleviated by the construction of the Chembe Bridge.

History

In the 19th century the valley was dominated by the Lunda kingdom of Mwata Kazembe.

The boundaries of the province between Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo were disputed for many years, running from an 1894 treaty into the late 1960s.

National Parks and wildlife areas

For further details see Luapula Province in Wildlife of Zambia

Districts

Luapula Province is divided into 11 districts:

See also

Coordinates: 11°00′S 29°00′E / 11.000°S 29.000°E / -11.000; 29.000


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, November 22, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.