About 485 kilometres (301 mi) long, it flows north and northeast, joining the Bahr el Ghazal River on the western side of the Sudd wetlands.

Below Wau the Jur River bends eastward, entering the swampy Sudd region.

Due to the nature of the wetlands it is not always clear whether one river flows into another or merely merges in the general Sudd swamps.

[3][2] Among the ethnic groups living in the Jur basin are the Dinka, and Luo who call themselves Jo-luo.

In 1897–98 the Jur River was carefully surveyed throughout its course by Lieutenant A.H. Dyé and other members of a French mission under Jean-Baptiste Marchand during the Scramble for Africa.