LOCATION:
Arua District lies in the North Western Conner of Uganda between latitude 20 30'N and 30 50'N and longitude 300 30'E and 310 30'E. It is bordered by a District comprising of the counties of Maracha and Terego in the North West; Yumbe District in the North East; Democratic Republic of Congo in the West; Nebbi District in the South; and Gulu District in the East.
Arua town, the Administrative and commercial headquarters of the district is 520 kilometres away from Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.
LAND AREA:
The district covers a total area of 3,112.85 Km2 area is about 2,702 square kilometres 87% of which is arable.
County [Sub-County] Land Area Km2 (Parishes) Villages
Arua Municipality
[Arua Hill] 6.38 (3) 22
[Oli River] 3.76 (3) 28
SUB TOTAL 10.14 (6) 50
Ayivu
[Adumi] 113.68 (9) 102
[Aroi] 42.42 (6) 52
[Dadamu] 50.13 (7) 51
[Manibe] 40.14 (8) 69
[Oluko] 80.71 (9) 66
[Pajulu] 64.11 (9) 78
SUB TOTAL 391.19 (48) 418
Madi-Okollo
[Offaka] 306.52 (6) 53
[Ogoko] 603.57 (6) 33
[Okollo] 419.34 (4) 30
[Rhino Camp] 247.21 (6) 50
[Rigbo] 233.93 (8) 68
[Ullepi] 130.24 (3) 18
SUB TOTAL 1,940.81 (33) 252
Vuraa
[Ajia] 274.38 (9) 32
[Arivu] 170.49 (6) 55
[Logiri] 207.24 (7) 48
[Vurra] 118.6 (10) 84
SUB TOTAL 770.71 (35) 219
TOTAL [18 Counties] 3,112.85 Km2 (119 Parishes) 939 Villages
[Source: Population and Housing Census 2002]
TOPOGRAPHY:
Arua district comprises mainly of rolling plains rising from the Nile floor in the rift valley (600m above sea level) to the Zaire - Nile water divide (1200 to 1400 meters above sea level). Arua’s landscape can generally be grouped into three topographical zones.
a) Madi Plateau - Occurs at an altitude of about 900 meters above sea level. It occupies the eastern parts of the district in Terego and Madi - Okollo counties. Several broad valleys that cut across to enter River Nile dissect this plateau.
b) Western highland - this upper plateau occurs at an altitudinal range of 1200 to 1800 metres above sea level. The parent rocks include basement complex metamorphose which is responsible for the formation of the hilly terrain. The zone generally covers the central western parts of Arua district especially in Ayivu and Vurra Counties. The slopes in Vurra consist of many facets.
c) Rift valley - The rift valley escarpments are highest in the South and fade off to the North. They consist of several faults carps arranged, roughly parallel with the Albert Nile. These scarps separate the Rift valley plains from the Madi plateau. The rift valley low lands consist of wide seasonal swamps. All major valleys are aggraded and consist of alluvial and swamp deposits.
GEOMORPHOLOGY:
Arua District consists of a monotonous Madi vast plain with occasional hills rising abruptly from it termed as zone of tors and inselburgs. At the Nile, rift valley, faults are seen at about 300 meters in height. Rift valley deposits occur and are backed by a series of scarps arranged in an echelon, which separate the rift valley plain from the Madi Plain. Large scarps in the West, above which the West Nile is Plateau in turn, stop the plain. This succession of plains is largely due to rift valley movement hence two erosion surfaces have been established, the Madi plain which is part of the African end of tertiary surface, and another principal erosion surface which is the older Gondwana surface.
The major valleys are aggraded with alluvial and swamp deposits. The aggradations are partly geomorphic, but also associated with dense growth of papyrus and other plants which block streams and cause deposition of sediments.
CLIMATE:
Arua district has a bi-modal rainfall pattern with light rains between April and October. The wettest months are normally August and September which receive 120mm/month. The average total rainfall is 1250mm. The mean monthly evaporation ranges from 130mm - 180mm. In the dry season (December -March) temperatures remain high throughout.
The table below displays average monthly climate indicators in ARUA based on 8 years of historical weather readings.
Temperature by:Centigrade
ARUA 1211 meters above sea level.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Avg. Temperature
25 25 25 25 24 22 22 22 23 23 23 24
Avg. Max Temperature
30 30 29 28 28 26 26 26 27 27 27 28
Avg. Min Temperature
16 18 18 18 18 17 16 17 17 17 17 17
Avg. Rain Days
0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 0
Avg. Snow Days
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AdministrativeLY, Arua District comprises 4 counties, 18 Sub-counties (including the divisions in the Urban Councils), 119 parishes (LCIIs) and 939 villages (LCIs). The district has one Urban Council namely Arua Municipal Council.
