Koda River (D. R. Congo)

The Koda is a river in the Djugu Territory, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name is also spelled Kodda or Kodha.^[1]

Course

The river starts in the Lendu Plateau northwest of Lake Albert, in the farmlands south and southwest of Kpandroma, at an altitude of about 2050 m. It initially runs a fairly level course in the general south direction, about 4 km east of Mount Aboro (the highest peak in the plateau). Near 2.0010°N 30.9042°E / 2.0010; 30.9042, at about 2000 m altitude, it starts running down the steep slope of the plateau in the direction of Lake Albert. It is the spine of the Bai valley,^[2] about 5 km long and 1.5 km wide, that ends at about 1050 m of altitude.^[3][4]

Shortly after the edge of the plateau, at about 2.000537°N 30.904348°E / 2.000537; 30.904348, the river splits into two branches that run about 20 m apart and rejoin 90 m further downstream, forming an oblong island.^[3] A little further down, at about 2.0000°N 30.9095°E / 2.0000; 30.9095, it is blocked by a small dam,^[2] at a place formerly called the Buu Falls.^[5]

Fauna and flora

Along its descent down the slope of the plateau, the river runs through the Tsili forest, that spans across the Bai (Koda River) valley and the adjacent Ndoogo valley to the east.^[2] As of 2016, this forest was about 2 km long, centered near 1.996276°N 30.916961°E / 1.996276; 30.916961,^[3] at about 1500 m of altitude^[4] and about 1.5 km north of the village Ndeke3. It is a small relic of the climax tropical forest that once covered the plateau and its slopes. The region, and a few more forest patches to its southwest, are one of the last refuges of a subspecies of chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii. At least six other non-human primate species have been reported in the region.

References

1. Anne Laudisoit, Justin Asimonyio Anio, Michel Komba Yendema, Bienvenu Ndjoku, Claude Mande, Falay Dadi, Jérôme Dz’na Yokpa, Gustave Ndjango Ngbathe, Jean Ngadjo Ndjaikpa, Naasson Lossa Uwale, David Maki Mbivo, Carine Mauwa, et Erik Verheyen (2016): Foret relique fragmentee d’altitude (rafale) en territoire de Djugu: Description floristique, inventaires faunistiques et notes ecologiques sur une population de chimpanzes isolee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) Rapport d’Expedition Scientifique - Expedition Biodiversite en Ituri. 9 juin 2016 – 20 juin 2016, Zone de Rethy.] Online document, in French, accessed on 2019-03-26.
2. Anne Laudisoit, Justin Asimonyio Anio, Michel Komba Yendema, Bienvenu Ndjoku, Jérôme Nd’za, and Ngbathe Gustave Ndjango (2016): Relict, refuge and fragmented altitude forest: Fauna and flora inventory, and ecological notes on an isolated chimpanzee population (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) - Part I Scientific Expedition Report, 06 – 20th March 2016, Rethy and LogoHealth Area, Djugu Territory. Online document, accessed on 2019-03-26.
3. Google Maps: "Koda River, DRC". Accessed on 2019-03-27.
4. Worldwide Elevation Map Finder: "Elevation map of Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo". Accessed on 2019-03-27.
5. Cheryl Moore (2014): Comment about "Koda Hydroelectric Plant Picnic July 19, 1989" dated 2014-12-04 on the Rethy Reruns website. "the area where the Koda plant is located was formerly called Buu Falls". Accessed 2019-04-29.

2.0010°N 30.9042°E / 2.0010; 30.9042