Geography of Rwanda

File:KageraRuvubu.jpg and Ruvubu rivers, part of the upper Nile|alt=Photograph of confluence of the Kagera and the Ruvubu, with the Rwanda-Tanzania border post in foreground, taken from a nearby hilltop]]

File:Rwanda2021OSM.png

The watershed between the major Congo and Nile drainage basins runs from north to south through Rwanda, with around 80 percent of the country's area draining into the Nile and 20 percent into the Congo via the Rusizi River.{{cite web|author=Nile Basin Initiative |year=2010 |title=Nile Basin Countries |author-link=Nile Basin Initiative |url=http://www.nilebasin.org/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48%3Anbi-country-profiles&catid=35%3Anbi-country-profiles&Itemid=67&lang=en |access-date=2012-02-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314045831/http://www.nilebasin.org/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48%3Anbi-country-profiles&catid=35%3Anbi-country-profiles&Itemid=67&lang=en |archive-date=2012-03-14 }} The country's longest river is the Nyabarongo, which rises in the south-west, flows north, east, and southeast before merging with the Akanyaru to form the Kagera; the Kagera then flows due north along the eastern border with Tanzania. The Nyabarongo-Kagera eventually drains into Lake Victoria, and its source in Nyungwe Forest is a contender for the as-yet undetermined overall source of the Nile.{{cite news |author=BBC News |date=2006-03-31 |title=Team reaches Nile's 'true source' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4864782.stm |access-date=2012-02-16}}

Rwanda has many lakes, the largest being Lake Kivu. This lake occupies the floor of the Albertine Rift along most of the length of Rwanda's western border, and with a maximum depth of {{convert|480|m|ft|0}},{{cite book |last=Jørgensen |first=Sven Erik |year=2005 |title=Lake and reservoir management |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-444-51678-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcJoaA85A48C |page=93}} it is one of the twenty deepest lakes in the world.{{cite book |last1=Briggs |first1=Philip |last2=Booth |first2=Janice |year=2006 |title=Rwanda – The Bradt Travel Guide |edition=3rd |location=London |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-84162-180-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2Sq4S3P5fQC |page=153}} Other sizeable lakes include Burera, Ruhondo, Muhazi, Rweru, and Ihema, the last being the largest of a string of lakes in the eastern plains of Akagera National Park.{{cite web |author=Global Nature Fund |title=Lake Ihema |author-link=Global Nature Fund |url=http://www.globalnature.org/30036/LIVING-LAKES/National-Networks/Network-East-Africa/Ihema/02_vorlage.asp |access-date=2012-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107053244/http://www.globalnature.org/30036/LIVING-LAKES/National-Networks/Network-East-Africa/Ihema/02_vorlage.asp |archive-date=2014-01-07 |url-status=dead }}

Mountains dominate central and western Rwanda. These mountains are part of the Albertine Rift Mountains that flank the Albertine branch of the East African Rift. This branch runs from north to south along Rwanda's western border.{{cite web|author=World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) |year=2001 |title=Terrestrial Ecoregions: Albertine Rift montane forests (AT0101) |author-link=World Wide Fund for Nature |url=https://secure.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at0101_full.html |access-date=2012-02-16 |location=Location and General Description |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041222014550/https://secure.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at0101_full.html |archive-date=2004-12-22 }} The highest peaks are found in the Virunga volcano chain in the northwest; this includes Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda's highest point, at {{convert|4507|m|ft|0}}.{{cite web |last1=Mehta |first1=Hitesh |last2=Katee |first2=Christine |year=2005 |title=Virunga Massif Sustainable Tourism Development Plan |publisher=International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) |url=http://www.igcp.org/wp-content/themes/igcp/docs/pdf/VirungaTourismMasterPlan_%20Final%20Report.pdf |access-date=2012-02-16 |page=37 |archive-date=2014-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304055030/http://www.igcp.org/wp-content/themes/igcp/docs/pdf/VirungaTourismMasterPlan_%20Final%20Report.pdf |url-status=dead }}

File:A man walks through heavy rain under an umbrella in Kigali, Rwanda. Emmanuel Kwizera.jpg

This western section of Rwanda, which lies within the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion, has an elevation of {{convert|1500|to|2500|m|ft|0}}.{{cite book |last1=Munyakazi |first1=Augustine |last2=Ntagaramba |first2=Johnson Funga |year=2005 |title=Atlas of Rwanda |language=fr |location=Oxford |publisher=Macmillan Education |isbn=0-333-95451-3 |page=7}} The centre of the country is predominantly rolling hills, while the eastern border region consists of savanna, plains and swamps.{{cite book |last1=Munyakazi |first1=Augustine |last2=Ntagaramba |first2=Johnson Funga |year=2005 |title=Atlas of Rwanda |language=fr |location=Oxford |publisher=Macmillan Education |isbn=0-333-95451-3 |page=18}}

Rwanda has a temperate tropical highland climate, with lower temperatures than are typical for equatorial countries due to its high elevation. Kigali, in the centre of the country, has a typical daily temperature range between {{convert|12|and|27|°C|°F}}, with little variation through the year.{{cite news |author=BBC Weather |title=Kigali |author-link=BBC Weather |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/782 |access-date=2012-02-16 |work=BBC News |location=Average Conditions}} There are some temperature variations across the country; the mountainous west and north are generally cooler than the lower-lying east.{{cite web |author=Best Country Reports |year=2007 |title=Temperature Map of Rwanda |publisher=World Trade Press |url=http://www.bestcountryreports.com/Temperature_Map_Rwanda.html |access-date=2012-02-16 |archive-date=2012-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310231145/http://www.bestcountryreports.com/Temperature_Map_Rwanda.html |url-status=dead }}

There are two rainy seasons in the year. The first runs from February to June and the second from September to December. These are separated by two dry seasons: the major one from June to September, during which there is often no rain at all, and a shorter and less severe one from December to February.{{cite book |last=King |first=David C. |year=2007 |title=Rwanda (Cultures of the World) |location=New York, N.Y. |publisher=Benchmark Books |isbn=978-0-7614-2333-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1yLx1zSuh_QC |page=10}} Rainfall varies geographically, with the west and northwest of the country receiving more precipitation annually than the east and southeast.{{cite book |last=Adekunle |first=Julius |year=2007 |title=Culture and customs of Rwanda |location=Westport, Conn. |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-33177-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0FC40EQujwC |page=1}}

Rwanda borders Burundi for 290 km, the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 217 km, Tanzania for 217 km, and Uganda for 169 km. projections in East Africa shows that temperatures are predicted to rise and be between 1.8 and 4.3° higher than the 1980–99 mean by 2100.{{Cite web |last=EAFRICA |first=NEW |date=February 18, 2018|title=Climate Impacts and Vulnerability |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226172906/https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/east_africa_adaptation_fact_sheet_feb2012.pdf|archive-date=February 26, 2023|url=https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/east_africa_adaptation_fact_sheet_feb2012.pdf}}

Rwanda has an area of 26 thousand square kilometers, of which 3 percent is water.

File:Rwanda Topography.png

{{See also|Rwanda#Climate}}

Rwanda has a tropical savanna climate and a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Aw and Cwb/Cfb), with a wet season and a dry season.

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Kigali, Rwanda

|collapsed = Yes

|single line = Yes

|metric first = Yes

|temperature colour = pastel

|Jan high C = 26.9

|Feb high C = 27.4

|Mar high C = 26.9

|Apr high C = 26.2

|May high C = 25.9

|Jun high C = 26.4

|Jul high C = 27.1

|Aug high C = 28.0

|Sep high C = 28.2

|Oct high C = 27.2

|Nov high C = 26.1

|Dec high C = 26.4

|year high C =

|Jan low C = 15.6

|Feb low C = 15.8

|Mar low C = 15.7

|Apr low C = 16.1

|May low C = 16.2

|Jun low C = 15.3

|Jul low C = 15.0

|Aug low C = 16.0

|Sep low C = 16.0

|Oct low C = 15.9

|Nov low C = 15.5

|Dec low C = 15.6

|year low C =

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 76.9

|Feb rain mm = 91.0

|Mar rain mm = 114.2

|Apr rain mm = 154.2

|May rain mm = 88.1

|Jun rain mm = 18.6

|Jul rain mm = 11.4

|Aug rain mm = 31.1

|Sep rain mm = 69.6

|Oct rain mm = 105.7

|Nov rain mm = 112.7

|Dec rain mm = 77.4

|unit rain days = 0.1 mm

|Jan rain days = 11

|Feb rain days = 11

|Mar rain days = 15

|Apr rain days = 18

|May rain days = 13

|Jun rain days = 2

|Jul rain days = 1

|Aug rain days = 4

|Sep rain days = 10

|Oct rain days = 17

|Nov rain days = 17

|Dec rain days = 14

|source 1 = World Meteorological Organization.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

}}

Rwanda possesses the following natural resources:

• gold
• cassiterite (tin ore)
• wolframite (tungsten ore)
• columbite-tantalite (tantalum and niobium ore)
• methane
• hydro-electric power
• coffee
• tea
• arable land
• green beans

The use of land in Rwanda is largely for arable land, and other purposes. 40 km² of land in Rwanda is irrigated. The table below describes the land use in Rwanda, as of 2011.

Natural hazards in Rwanda include periodic droughts and the volcanic activity of the Virunga Mountains, located in the northwest of the country, along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Current issues concerning the environment in Rwanda include: the result of uncontrolled deforestation for fuel, overgrazing, soil exhaustion.

Rwanda is a party to the following international agreements:

• Biodiversity
• Climate Change
• Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
• Desertification
• Endangered Species
• Hazardous Wastes
• Nuclear Test Ban
• Ozone Layer Protection
• Wetlandshttps://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/rwanda_adaptation_fact_sheet_jan2012.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}

Rwanda has signed, but not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

This is a list of the extreme points of Rwanda, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

• Northernmost point – unnamed location on the border with Uganda immediately north-west of the village of Kagitumba, Eastern province
• Easternmost point – unnamed location on the border with Tanzania in the Kagera river, Eastern province
• Southernmost point – unnamed location on the border with Burundi, Southern province
• Westernmost point – unnamed location on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Ruzizi river immediately south of the DRC town of Bukavu, Western province

• List of lakes in Rwanda

{{reflist}}

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{{Rwanda topics}}

{{Geography of Africa}}

{{Africa topic|Climate of}}

Category:Climate change