The Ebola River (/iˌboʊlə/ or /əˈboʊlə/),[1][2] also commonly known by its Ngbandi name Legbala,[3] is the headstream of the Mongala River, a tributary of the Congo River, in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[citation needed] The name Ebola is a French corruption of Legbala, its name in Ngbandi which means 'white water'.

[5] During the Belgian administration these names were interchangeable along with the French names Eau Blanche[3] and rarely L'Ébola.

[5] In 1976, Ebola virus was first identified in Yambuku, 111 kilometers (69 mi) from the Ebola River, but the virologist Karl Johnson decided to name it after the river so that the town would not be associated with the disease's stigma.

[6] Media related to Ebola River at Wikimedia Commons This article related to a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a stub.