- The Ituri River (French: Rivière Ituri) is a river of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the main tributary of the Aruwimi River, which forms where the Ituri meets the Nepoko River.
- It gives its name to Ituri Province.
Course
- The Ituri has its headwaters in province of Haut-Uélé in the mountains to the west of Lake Albert, about north of Kaladau.
- It flows generally south into Ituri province, and flows past Mongbwalu to the east.
- It is joined from the left by Shari River to the northeast of Irumu about south-southwest of Bunia.
- It is joined from the left by the Malibongo River near Komanda Helipad.
- From there it flows in a generally westward direction to Bomili in Tshopo province, where it is joined by the Nepoko River to form the Aruwimi.
- The Ituri is long. The Aruwimi is long, giving a combined length of .
- The river flows through the Ituri Rainforest.
- About one-fifth of the rainforest is made up of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, a World Heritage Site.
History
- In 1903 prospectors working for the Congo Free State discovered gold in the Ituri River.
- This led to the opening of the Kilo mine in 1905 and the Moto mine in 1911, and in 1919 to creation of the Régie Industrielle des Mines de Kilo-Moto.