The Cuanza River, also known as the Kwanza, the Quanza, or the Coanza, is the longest river in Angola. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean just south of the national capital Luanda.
HINT:
👉 Cuanza River in the context of Bié Plateau
The Bié Plateau or Central Plateau of Angola is a plateau that occupies most of central Angola. The elevation of the plateau is from 1,520 m (4,990 ft) to 1,824.8956 m (5,987.190 ft).
Five major rivers have their headwaters or significant tributaries on the plateau: the Cunene, Cuanza, Okavango, Zambezi, and Congo rivers. It has relatively fertile soil and high rainfall, compared to the coastal region of Angola to its west. Its climate is cool and has enough rainfall to allow for the cultivation of coffee, corn, rice, sisal, sugarcane, and peanuts. Along the more elevated parts, more rain falls, but it gradually declines further within. About half of the rural population of Angola reside on the Bié plateau. The Benguela Railway connects it to the ocean and its principal towns are Huambo and Kuito.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Cuanza River
- 👉 Cuanza River in the context of Bié Plateau
- Cuanza River in the context of Ndongo
- Cuanza River in the context of Lucala River
- Cuanza River in the context of Mbundu people
Cuanza River in the context of Ndongo
The Kingdom of Ndongo (formerly known as Angola or Dongo, also Kimbundu: Utuminu ua Ndongo, Utuminu ua Ngola) was an early-modern African state located in the highlands between the Lukala and Kwanza Rivers, in what is now Angola.
The Kingdom of Ndongo is first recorded in the sixteenth century. It was one of multiple vassal states to Kongo, though Ndongo was the most powerful of these with a king called the Ngola.
View the full Wikipedia page for NdongoCuanza River in the context of Lucala River
The Lucala River is a river in Angola, a right tributary of Angola's largest river, the Cuanza River.
The Lucala has its source in Uíge Province, runs through Malanje Province, where it feeds the Kalandula Falls, and finally empties into the Cuanza River near Massangano in Cuanza Norte Province, some kilometers downstream of Dondo.
View the full Wikipedia page for Lucala RiverCuanza River in the context of Mbundu people
The Ambundu (also Mbundu or Kimbundu) (Mbundu: Ambundu or Akwambundu, singular: Mumbundu (distinct from the Ovimbundu) are a Bantu people who live on a high plateau in present-day Angola just north of the Kwanza River. The Ambundu speak Kimbundu, and most also speak the official language of the country, Portuguese. They are the second biggest ethnic group in the country and make up 25% of the total population of Angola.
The Ambundu nowadays live in the region stretching to the East from Angola's capital city of Luanda (see map). They are predominant in the Bengo and Malanje provinces and in neighbouring parts of the Cuanza Norte and Cuanza Sul provinces. The head of the main Ambundu kingdom was called a Ngola, which is the origin of the name of the country Angola.
View the full Wikipedia page for Mbundu people