[4] The Kafue River rises at an elevation of 1,350 metres (4,430 ft) on the relatively flat plateau just south the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo 120 kilometres (75 mi) north-west of Chingola in the Copperbelt Province.

The area is Miombo woodland on the Congo-Zambezi watershed, with many branching dambos lying 10 to 20 metres (33 to 66 ft) lower than the highest ground, producing a very gently undulating topography.

[5] Before the river reaches the Copperbelt towns, however, it loses its wide floodplain, the channel narrows to 30–40 m and it meanders less, in a shallow valley only 40 m or so lower than the surrounding plateau.

It flows 20 km west of the permanent part of the Lukanga Swamp which fills a circular depression, and which drains through a channel into the Kafue.

[6] The Kafue skirts the south-east edge of the Busanga Plain, one of Africa's premier wildlife areas, known for large herds of cape buffalo, zebra and antelope.

This time however it also has an immense shallow flood plain which no roads or railways cross, 240 kilometres (150 mi) long and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) wide,[5] flooded to a depth of less than a metre in the rainy season (deeper in some lagoons and permanently swampy areas), and drying out to a clayey black soil in the dry season.

The lower Zambezi (originally a separate river) cut back through the rift valleys and eventually captured the Kafue.

[citation needed] The T3 road crosses the river in-between Chililabombwe and Chingola as well as in the city of Kitwe, both in the Copperbelt Province.

As it flows through the Copperbelt the Kafue River is at great risk of pollution, not just from urban waste but from copper mine tailings.

[10] In the Kafue flats, the discharge of phosphates in excess fertiliser run-off from commercial farming and the Nakambala Sugar Estate can cause algal blooms and weed growth, reducing fish populations.

In 1999, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiated dialogue between the Zambian Government, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) and local people to restore a more natural flow pattern to water releases from the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam built on the Kafue River.