Karuma Falls
| Karuma Falls | ||
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 Karuma Falls |
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| Coordinates | 2 ° 14 '37.8 " N , 32 ° 14' 0.2" E | |
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| place | Uganda | |
| Falling watercourse | Victoria Nile | |
As Karuma Falls , several natural cascades of the Victoria Nile , about five to eight meters high, are named, about one kilometer north of the city of Karuma in the Lira district , northern Uganda .
discovery
In October 1862 it was John Hanning Speke , a British African explorer , who became the first European to sight the Karuma Falls. He didn't seem to have been particularly impressed by this place, as contrary to the practice of many so-called explorers, he did not give the rapids a European name.
Energy generation
On January 27, 2013, the Sunday Monitor reported that a Chinese construction company (China International Water & Electric Corporation, CWE) had been awarded a contract to build a hydropower plant at the Karuma Falls for 1.4 billion US dollars . If this is realized, the falls will suffer the same fate as the Bujagali Falls in Jinja , Uganda, which no longer exist today because a hydroelectric power station was also built there. At the same time, the construction would have an impact on the subsequent Murchison Falls and the Victoria Nile up to the confluence with the Albert Nile.