Congo River
American Heritage Dictionary:
Top
Congo River
A river of central Africa flowing about 4,666 km (2,900 mi) north, west, and southwest through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) to the Atlantic Ocean. Its remotest tributaries rise in northern Zambia. For much of its latter course the river forms the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
Top
Congo River
(click to enlarge)
Enya (Wagenia) fishing in the rapids of the Congo River near Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the (credit: SuperStock)
Enya (Wagenia) fishing in the rapids of the Congo River near Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the (credit: SuperStock)
For more information on Congo River, visit Britannica.com.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
Top
Congo River
Congo (kŏng'gō) or Zaïre (zī'ēr, zäēr'), great river of equatorial Africa, c.2,720 mi (4,380 km) long, formed by the waters of the Lualaba River and its tributary, the Luvua River, and flowing generally N and W through Congo (Kinshasa) to the Atlantic Ocean.
Course
The second longest river of Africa and one of the longest in the world, the Congo River drains c.1,425,000 sq mi (3,690,750 sq km) including all of Congo (Kinshasa) and parts of Congo (Brazzaville), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Angola. The Lualaba River, considered to be the upper Congo River, rises in SE Congo (Kinshasa), flows north over rapids and falls to Bukama, and thence across a vast plain and through a series of marshy lakes (Kabwe, Kabele, Upemba) to receive the Luvua River at Ankoro. The Luvua River has its most remote source in the Chambeshi River, which rises in N Zambia and flows southwest into swamps around Lake Bangweulu; it emerges from the swamps as the Luapula River, continues N along the Congo (Kinshasa)-Zambia border into Lake Mweru, exits from there as the Luvua River, and continues NW to the Lualaba River. A third major headstream is the Lukuga River, which drains from Lake Tanganyika and joins the Lualaba River near Kabalo. From Kabalo, the Lualaba River flows N to Kisangani in a varied course marked by a deep and narrow gorge (the Gates of Hell) below Kongolo, a navigable stretch from Kasongo to Kibombo, a section of rapids and falls from Kibombo to Kindu, a shallow but navigable section from Kindu to Ubundu, and a section of seven cataracts-known as Boyoma Falls-between Ubundu and Kisangani that marks the end of the Lualaba and the beginning of the Congo River proper.
Below Kisangani, the Congo flows west and southwest, in a great curve unbroken by falls or rapids for about 1,090 mi (1,750 km) to Kinshasa. For most of its middle section the Congo is from 4 to 10 mi (6.4-16.1 km) wide, with many islands and sandbars. Because its many large tributaries (including the Lomami, Kasai, Lulonga, Ubangi, Aruwimi, Itimbiri, and Mongala rivers) drain areas with alternating rainy seasons on either side of the equator, the Congo has a fairly constant flow throughout the year. Between Bolobo and Kwamouth the Congo narrows in width to between 1 mi and 11/2 mi (1.6-2.4 km) but, c.350 mi (560 km) from its mouth, widens to form lakelike Pool Malebo, on which Kinshasa and Brazzaville are located. From the western end of Pool Malebo, the Congo descends 876 ft (267 m) in a series of 32 rapids, known as Livingstone Falls, to the port of Matadi.
Below Matadi (83 mi/134 km inland) the Congo is navigable by oceangoing vessels and, despite such hazards as the whirlpools of the Devil's Cauldron, shifting sandbars, and sharp bends in the river, forms one of the largest natural harbors in Africa. The river is tidal to Boma, c.60 mi (100 km) upstream. The Congo River enters the Atlantic Ocean between Banana Point, Congo (Kinshasa), and Sharks Point, Angola, and dredging is required to keep a navigable channel open. The river is continued offshore by a c.500-mi-long (800-km) submarine canyon that is c.4,000 ft (1,220 m) deep.
Economic Importance
With railroads to bypass major falls (Matadi-Kinshasa; Kisangani-Ubundu; Kindu-Kongolo), the Congo River and its tributaries form a system of navigable waterways c.9,000 mi (14,480 km) long, along which move much of central Africa's copper, palm-oil kernels, cotton, sugar, and coffee. The chief ocean port is Matadi, with its associated oil port, Ango Ango; the chief river ports are Kinshasa and Kisangani. River steamers operate throughout the year between Kinshasa and Kisangani. The Congo River is Africa's largest potential source of hydroelectric power; the most valuable site is along Livingstone Falls, where the first phase of the Inga Power Project has been completed. In spite of government initiatives, hydroelectric power is underdeveloped.
The Congo river basin encompasses the world's second largest contiguous rain forest, surpassed only by that of the Amazon. The region is biologically diverse, and a huge watershed. The forest is threatened by illegal logging and the poaching of large mammals (especially for the bushmeat trade), but two summits (1999, 2005) that brought together the nations of the basin have committed its participants to forest conservation and have led to the establishment of wildlife preserves.
European Exploration
The mouth of the Congo River was visited (1482) by Diogo Cão, the Portuguese navigator. It became known as the Zaïre River (a corruption of the local name Mzadi meaning "great water") and was later referred to as the Congo River (for the Kongo kingdom located near its mouth); it was called Zaïre River by the government of Zaïre (now Congo [Kinshasa]) from 1971 to 1997. The Congo's lower course was traced upstream as far as Isangila by a British force under Capt. J. K. Tuckey in 1816, and its upper headwaters by the missionary David Livingstone, who followed the Lualaba River to Nyangwe in 1871. The journalist Henry Stanley traveled from Nyangwe to Isangila and on to Boma during his great transcontinental journey (1874-77), thus proving the headwaters to be tributaries of the Congo River, and not sources of the Nile as hypothesized by Livingstone.
Bibliography
See H. Winternitz, East Along the Equator: A Journey up the Congo and into Zaïre (1987).
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Geography:
Top
Congo River
River of central Africa, flowing through Democratic Republic of Congo to the Atlantic Ocean.
- One of the world's longest rivers, it is Africa's largest potential source of electric power.
- Explored separately but simultaneously by the missionary David Livingstone and the journalist Henry Stanley, the Congo was the site of their proverbial encounter. (See “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”)
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Congo River
| The Congo River (river zaire) | |
| River | |
.JPG) The Congo River near Mossaka
|
|
| Countries | Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia |
|---|---|
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
| Length | 4,700 km (2,920 mi) [1] |
| Basin | 4,014,500 km2 (1,550,007 sq mi) [1] |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 41,000 m3/s (1,447,901 cu ft/s) [1] |
| - max | 75,000 m3/s (2,648,600 cu ft/s) [1] |
| - min | 23,000 m3/s (812,237 cu ft/s) [1] |
The Congo River (in the past also known as the Zaire River) is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of 220 m (720 ft).[2] It is the third largest river in the world by volume of water discharged. Additionally, its overall length of 4,700 km (2,920 mi) makes it the ninth longest river.
The Congo gets its name from the ancient Kingdom of Kongo which inhabited the lands at the mouth of the river. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, both countries lying along the river's banks, are named after it. Between 1971 and 1997 the government of then-Zaire called it the Zaire River.
|
Contents
|
Basin and course
The Congo's drainage basin covers 4,014,500 square kilometres (1,550,000 sq mi).[1] The Congo's discharge at its mouth ranges from 23,000 cubic metres per second (810,000 cu ft/s) to 75,000 cubic metres per second (2,600,000 cu ft/s), with an average of 41,000 cubic metres per second (1,400,000 cu ft/s).[1]
The river and its tributaries flow through the Congo rainforest, the second largest rain forest area in the world, second only to the Amazon Rainforest in South America. The river also has the second-largest flow in the world, behind the Amazon; the third-largest drainage basin of any river, behind the Amazon and Río de la Plata rivers; and is one of the deepest rivers in the world, at depths greater than 220 m (720 ft).[2][3] Because its drainage basin includes areas both North and South of the equator, its flow is stable, as there is always at least one part of the river experiencing a rainy season.[4]
The sources of the Congo are in the highlands and mountains of the East African Rift, as well as Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru, which feed the Lualaba River, which then becomes the Congo below Boyoma Falls. The Chambeshi River in Zambia is generally taken as the source of the Congo in line with the accepted practice worldwide of using the longest tributary, as with the Nile River.
The Congo flows generally northwards from Kisangani just below the Boyoma falls, then gradually bends southwestwards, passing by Mbandaka, joining with the Ubangi River, and running into the Pool Malebo (Stanley Pool). Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) and Brazzaville are on opposite sides of the river at the Pool, where the river narrows and falls through a number of cataracts in deep canyons (collectively known as the Livingstone Falls), running by Matadi and Boma, and into the sea at the small town of Muanda.
The Congo River Basin is one of the distinct physiographic sections of the larger Mid-African province, which in turn is part of the larger African massive physiographic division.
Economic importance
Although the Livingstone Falls prevent access from the sea, nearly the entire Congo is readily navigable in sections, especially between Kinshasa and Kisangani. Large river steamers worked the river until quite recently. The Congo River still is a lifeline in a land without roads or railways.[5]
Railways now bypass the three major falls, and much of the trade of Central Africa passes along the river, including copper, palm oil (as kernels), sugar, coffee, and cotton. The river is also potentially valuable for hydroelectric power, and the Inga Dams below Pool Malebo are first to exploit the Congo river.
Hydro-electric power
See also: Inga dams
The Congo River is the most powerful river in Africa. During the rainy season over 50,000 cubic meters (1,800,000 cu ft) of water per second flow into the Atlantic Ocean. Opportunities for the Congo River and its tributaries to generate hydropower are therefore enormous. Scientists have calculated that the entire Congo Basin accounts for thirteen percent of global hydropower potential. This would provide sufficient power for all of sub-Saharan Africa's electricity needs.[6]
Currently there are about forty hydropower plants in the Congo Basin. The largest is the spectacular Inga Fallsdam, about 200 km (120 mi) southwest of Kinshasa. The prestigious Inga Project was launched in the early 1970's and at that time the first dam was completed. The plan as originally conceived called for the construction of five dams that would have had a total generating capacity of 34,500 megawatts. To date only two dams have been built, which are the Inga I and Inga II, with a total of fourteen turbines.[6]
In February 2005, South Africa's state-owned power company, Eskom, announced a proposal to increase the capacity of the Inga dramatically through improvements and the construction of a new hydroelectric dam. The project would bring the maximum output of the facility to 40 GW, twice that of China's Three Gorges Dam.[7]
It is feared that these new hydroelectric dams could lead to the extinction of many of the fish species that are endemic to the river.[8]
Natural history
The Congo River formed 1.5-2 million years ago during the Pleistocene.[9]
The Congo's formation may have led to the allopatric speciation of the bonobo and the common chimpanzee from their most recent common ancestor.[10] The bonobo is endemic to the humid forests in the region, as are other iconic species like the Allen's swamp monkey, dryas monkey, aquatic genet, okapi and Congo Peafowl.[11][12]
In terms of aquatic life, the Congo River Basin has a very high species richness, and among the highest known concentrations of endemics.[13] Until now, almost 700 fish species have been recorded from the Congo River Basin, and large sections remain virtually unstudied.[14] Due to this and the great ecological differences between the regions in the basin, it is often divided into multiple ecoregions (instead of treating it as a single ecoregion). Among these ecoregions, the Lower Congo Rapids alone has more than 300 fish species, including approximately 80 endemics[8] while the southwestern part (Kasai Basin) alone has about 200 fish species, of which about a quarter are endemic.[15] The dominant fish families–at least in parts of the river–are Cyprinidae (carp/cyprinids, such as Labeo simpsoni), Mormyridae (elephantfishes), Alestidae (African tetras), Mochokidae (squeaker catfishes), and Cichlidae (cichlids).[16] Among the natives in the river is the huge, highly carnivorous giant tigerfish. Two of the more unusual endemic cichlids are the whitish (non-pigmented) and blind Lamprologus lethops, which is believed to live as deep as 160 metres (520 ft) below the surface,[8] and Heterochromis multidens, which appears to be more closely related to cichlids of the Americas than other African cichlid.[17] There are also numerous endemic frogs and snails.[16][18] Several hydroelectric dams are planned on the river, and these may lead to the extinction of many of the endemics.[8]
Several species of turtles, and the slender-snouted, Nile and dwarf crocodile are native to the Congo River Basin.
Tributaries
|
Sorted in order from the mouth heading upstream. |
|
Literature
- 1837: Silence – A Fable is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, written in 1837 (see: bibliography). Although the first paragraph of this story contains the sentence: "The region of which I speak is a dreary region in Libya, by the borders of the river Zaire." it would not immediately appear to refer to the Equatorial-African River Zaire (River Congo), as the River Zaire of the story is described as being in Libya, which is in North Africa. It may be, however, that, given the level of geographical knowledge of Africa at the time of writing, the name Libya is used as a generic name for the African continent. In this case the story may, in fact, be an attempt to describe the River Congo of Equatorial Africa. It was adapted into a radio program of the same name.
- 1878: Henry Morton Stanley documented his journey down the Congo River in Through the Dark Continent, first published in 1878.[19]
- 1902: Although not explicitly cited, the Congo River provides the setting for Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel Heart of Darkness[20].
- 1914: American poet Vachel Lindsay portrays a dark and savage society around the Congo River in his 1914 poem The Congo: A Study of the Negro Race.
- 1921: The Congo is mentioned in Langston Hughes's poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers".
- 1980: The Congo River is featured in a chapter of Michael Crichton's novel Congo (published in 1980), as well as in the 1995 film based on the book.
- 1995: The Congo River is featured in the action film Congo, by director Frank Marshall, although it is not mentioned by name in the film. The film is based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton.
- 1996: British author Redmond O'Hanlon has a travelogue published by Penguin Books under the title of Congo Journey (1996).
- 1998: The river's history is discussed in the 1998 book King Leopold's Ghost (by Adam Hochschild).
- 2006: The river's history is discussed in the book Brazza, A Life for Africa (by Maria Petringa, Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006).
- 2007: The Congo River and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the scenario for the 2007 book Blood River by journalist Tim Butcher,[21] based on his intrepid travels up and down Africa's second longest river. Blood River was an attempt to retrace Henry Morton Stanley's trip down the Congo River, documented in Through the Dark Continent (first published, 1878), and was shortlisted for the 2008 British Book Awards.
- 2010: The Congo River is a central element in the 2010 novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, El sueño del celta (The Dream of the Celt), a fictionalisation of episodes in the life of the Irishman Roger Casement. The book is to be published in English in 2012.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Bossche, J.P. vanden; G. M. Bernacsek (1990). Source Book for the Inland Fishery Resources of Africa, Volume 1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 338–339. ISBN 978-92-5-102983-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=WLZRxM9vfXoC&pg=PA338.
- ^ a b Oberg, Kevin (2008-07). "Discharge and Other Hydraulic Measurements for Characterizing the Hydraulics of Lower Congo River, July 2008". U.S. Geological Survey. http://hydroacoustics.usgs.gov/publications/Measurements4LowerCongo-6.pdf.
- ^ "Monster Fish of the Congo". National Geographic Channel. 2009. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3826/Overview.
- ^ The Congo River. Rainforests.mongabay.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-29.
- ^ See, for instance, Thierry Michel's film Congo River
- ^ a b Alain Nubourgh, Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC). Weetlogs.scilogs.be (2010-04-27). Retrieved on 2011-11-29.
- ^ Vasagar, Jeevan (2005-02-25). "Could a $50bn plan to tame this mighty river bring electricity to all of Africa?". World news (London: The Guardian). http://www.guardian.co.uk/congo/story/0,12292,1425023,00.html. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ a b c d Norlander, Britt (April 20, 2009). Rough waters: one of the world's most turbulent rivers is home to a wide array of fish species. Now, large dams are threatening their future. Science World
- ^ Leonard C. Beadle (1981). The inland waters of tropical Africa: an introduction to tropical limnology. Longman. p. 475. ISBN 978-0-582-46341-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=iAIUAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ Caswell JL, Mallick S, Richter DJ, et al (2008). "Analysis of chimpanzee history based on genome sequence alignments". PLoS Genet. 4 (4): e1000057. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000057. PMC 2278377. PMID 18421364. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2278377.
- ^ Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press Limited, London. ISBN 0-12-408355-2.
- ^ BirdLife International (2008). "Afropavo congensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/141356. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ Dickman, Kyle (2009-11-03). "Evolution in the Deepest River in the World". Science & Nature. Smithsonian Magazine. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Evolution-in-the-Deepest-River-in-the-World.html.
- ^ Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (2008). Sudanic Congo – Oubangi. Accessed 2 May 2011.
- ^ Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (2008). Kasai. Accessed 2 May 2011.
- ^ a b Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (2008). Upper Lualaba. Accessed 2 May 2011.
- ^ Kullander, S.O. (1998). A phylogeny and classification of the South American Cichlidae (Teleostei: Perciformes). pp. 461–498 in Malabarba, L., et al. (eds.), Phylogeny and Classification of Neotropical Fishes, Porto Alegre.
- ^ Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (2008). Lower Congo Rapids. Accessed 2 May 2011.
- ^ Through the Dark continent. Open Library. Retrieved on 2011-11-29.
- ^ Described in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness as "a mighty big river" with its mouth somewhere south of Ivory Coast and Togo. "But there was in [the map of the African continent] one river especially, a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land."
- ^ Paul Theroux (27 May 2011). "The places in between". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/71b85180-87e5-11e0-a6de-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1NccBGO3m. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Congo River |
- Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library
- Information and a map of the Congo's watershed
- Map of the Congo River basin at Water Resources eAtlas
- Interesting pictures and details to see
- The Congo Project, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
Read more
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Geography
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and
James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
Lomami
(river of central Congo)
Stanley Pool
(lakelike expansion of the Congo River)
Aruwimi
(river of central Africa)
» More