Article Outline
Rwanda, republic in east-central Africa, bordered on the north by Uganda, on the east by Tanzania, on the south by Burundi, and on the west by Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaïre). The area of Rwanda is 26,338 sq km (10,169 sq mi). The capital is Kigali.
The central portion of Rwanda is dominated by a hilly plateau averaging about 1,700 m (5,600 ft) in elevation. Eastwards, towards the Tanzanian border, the land slopes downwards to a series of marshy lakes along the upper Kagera River. On the western side of the plateau is a mountain system averaging about 2,740 m (9,000 ft) in elevation, forming the watershed between the Nile and Congo river systems. The northern reaches of these mountains contain the Virunga chain of volcanoes, which includes Karisimbi (4,507 m/14,787 ft), the highest peak. West of the mountains the elevation drops to about 1,460 m (4,800 ft) in the Lake Kivu region.
Rwanda has three main seasons. A short dry season occurs in January. The major rainy season lasts from February to the end of May, then June to late September is characterized by dry weather. The average yearly rainfall is 787 mm (31 in), and is heaviest in the western and north-western mountain regions. Wide temperature variations occur because of differences in altitude. The average daily temperature in the Lake Kivu area is 22.8° C (73° F). In the mountains in the north-west frost occurs at night.
The principal mineral resources are cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), beryl, columbite, tantalite, limestone, and gold. Large natural-gas reserves, found near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were being developed before the collapse of civil order in 1994.
