LIGHTNING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

This small country is located near the center of Africa, a few degrees south of the Equator. It is separated from the Democratic Republic of Congo by Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley to the west; it is bounded on the north by Uganda, to the east by Tanzania and to the south by Burundi. The capital, Kigali, is located in the centre of the country.


Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of almost 9,000 feet (2,740 m). On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley, and constitutes part of the Great Rift Valley.

The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region. Therefore the country is also fondly known as "Land of a Thousand Hills" (Pays des milles collines). In 2006, a British-led exploration announced that they had located the longest headstream of the River Nile in Nyungwe Forest.

Rwanda is a tropical country; its high elevation makes the climate temperate. In the mountains, frost and snow are possible. The average daily temperature near Lake Kivu, at an altitude of 1,463 m (4,800 feet) is 23°C (73°F). Rwanda is considered the lightning capital of the world, due to intense daily monsoons during the two rainy seasons (February–May and September–December). Annual rainfall averages 830 mm (31 inches) but is generally heavier in the western and northwestern mountains than in the eastern savannas.