The Rufiji river is approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) south of Dar es Salaam.

[1] A branch of ancient sea routes led down the East African coast called "Azania" by the Greeks and Romans in the 1st century CE as described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (and, very probably, Chinese: 澤散 in the 3rd century by the Chinese),[2] at least as far as the port known to the Romans as Rhapta, which was probably located in the delta of the Rufiji River in modern Tanzania.

[3] During the First World War, from October 1914 to July 1915, the river delta was the scene of a protracted naval operation.

The catchment basin for the Rufiji River complex is 177,429 square kilometres (68,506 sq mi).

[4] Tanzania president John Magufuli has approved the construction of a controversial[5][6] new dam and power station on the river at Stiegler's Gorge.