Koss River

The Koss River (Arabic هواشناسی: Khor Koss) is a river that flows in a north of northwest direction through the Eastern Equatoria state of South Sudan, fed by streams from the Imatong Mountains to the west.

The Koss river rises near Ikotos. The head-waters of the river form a waterfall near Laborokala. This is the location of an annual Lango ceremony before the start of the rainy season where a goat is sacrificed and its stomach contents and later its bones are thrown into the stream.^[1] The Shilok river, a tributary of the Koss that separates the southeastern part of the Imatong mountains from the Teretenya ridge, joins the Koss not far from its source.^[2]

The Koss river divides the lowland area east of the Imatong Mountains from that west of the Lafit, Dongotona and Nangeya Mountains. Streams from these mountains feed the river.^[2] The river flows through the Bari country to the east of Torit.^[3] Near to Tirangore the river is spanned by a bailey bridge on the Torit-Kapoeta road, built by the Norwegian Church Aid.^[4] In 1881, Emin Pasha made a trip from Gondokoro on the Nile to "Tarangole", and from there travelled south along the Koss Valley, and then southwest to the Nile.^[2] North of Tirangore, the river passes Lafon and then flows almost due north before being lost in marshland.^[5]

References