The Congo River , formerly also known as the Zaire River , is the second-longest river in Africa , shorter only than the Nile , as well as the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume, following the Amazon and Ganges rivers. It is the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths of around 220 m (720 ft). The Congo– Lualaba – Luvua – Luapula – Chambeshi River system has an overall length of 4,700 km (2,900 mi), which makes it the world's ninth- longest river . The Chambeshi is a tributary of the Lualaba River , and Lualaba is the name of the Congo River upstream of Boyoma Falls , extending for 1,800 km (1,100 mi).
49-685: Bolobo is a town on the Congo River in Mai-Ndombe Province in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the administrative center of Bolobo Territory . As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 31,366. The predominant tribe is that of the Banunu people , who originate from upriver and whose Bobangi language was the former trade language for the area. Lingala , one of
98-506: A Kikongo word, nzere ("river"), a truncation of nzadi o nzere ("river swallowing rivers"). The river was known as Zaire during the 16th and 17th centuries; Congo seems to have replaced Zaire gradually in English usage during the 18th century, and Congo is the preferred English name in 19th-century literature, although references to Zahir or Zaire as the name used by the inhabitants remained common. The Democratic Republic of
147-484: A sink , which may be a permanent lake, a dry lake , or a point where surface water is lost underground . Drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units , which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system . Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks. In a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. About 48.71% of
196-414: A watershed , though in other English-speaking places, "watershed" is used only in its original sense, that of the drainage divide line. A drainage basin's boundaries are determined by watershed delineation , a common task in environmental engineering and science. In a closed drainage basin, or endorheic basin , rather than flowing to the ocean, water converges toward the interior of the basin, known as
245-449: A drainage basin, and there are different ways to interpret that data. In the unlikely event that the gauges are many and evenly distributed over an area of uniform precipitation, using the arithmetic mean method will give good results. In the Thiessen polygon method, the drainage basin is divided into polygons with the rain gauge in the middle of each polygon assumed to be representative for
294-540: A drainage boundary is referred to as watershed delineation . Finding the area and extent of a drainage basin is an important step in many areas of science and engineering. Most of the water that discharges from the basin outlet originated as precipitation falling on the basin. A portion of the water that enters the groundwater system beneath the drainage basin may flow towards the outlet of another drainage basin because groundwater flow directions do not always match those of their overlying drainage network. Measurement of
343-438: A proposal to expand generation through improvements and the construction of a new hydroelectric dam . The project would bring the maximum output of the facility to 40,000 megawatts (MW). It is feared that these new hydroelectric dams could lead to the extinction of many of the fish species that are native to the river. Drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to
392-564: A single point, such as a river mouth , or flows into another body of water , such as a lake or ocean . A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the drainage divide , made up of a succession of elevated features, such as ridges and hills . A basin may consist of smaller basins that merge at river confluences , forming a hierarchical pattern . Other terms for a drainage basin are catchment area , catchment basin , drainage area , river basin , water basin , and impluvium . In North America, they are commonly called
441-3938: Is in the Ruwenzori Mountains , at an altitude of around 4,340 m (14,240 ft) above sea level. Distribution of the Congo basin area between countries: The most important hydrological stations along the Congo River are: Brazzaville The Congo River discharge at Kinshasa / Brazzaville stations since the start of measurements (1902 to 2021): 5°08′30.4″S 13°59′27.9″E / 5.141778°S 13.991083°E / -5.141778; 13.991083 5°02′57.3″S 13°59′28.2″E / 5.049250°S 13.991167°E / -5.049250; 13.991167 5°01′49.5″S 14°01′37.2″E / 5.030417°S 14.027000°E / -5.030417; 14.027000 5°2′20.6″S 14°02′09.2″E / 5.039056°S 14.035889°E / -5.039056; 14.035889 4°56′50.7″S 14°09′21.2″E / 4.947417°S 14.155889°E / -4.947417; 14.155889 4°55′38.5″S 14°15′16.5″E / 4.927361°S 14.254583°E / -4.927361; 14.254583 4°54′03.3″S 14°24′18.2″E / 4.900917°S 14.405056°E / -4.900917; 14.405056 Brazzaville 4°16′47.3″S 15°18′32.8″E / 4.279806°S 15.309111°E / -4.279806; 15.309111 4°05′24.4″S 15°30′39.1″E / 4.090111°S 15.510861°E / -4.090111; 15.510861 3°52′43.4″S 15°55′11.6″E / 3.878722°S 15.919889°E / -3.878722; 15.919889 3°33′18.7″S 16°05′32.2″E / 3.555194°S 16.092278°E / -3.555194; 16.092278 3°28′52.5″S 16°07′18.3″E / 3.481250°S 16.121750°E / -3.481250; 16.121750 3°11′23.7″S 16°11′09.6″E / 3.189917°S 16.186000°E / -3.189917; 16.186000 3°10′36.4″S 16°11′41.5″E / 3.176778°S 16.194861°E / -3.176778; 16.194861 3°09′59.7″S 16°10′51.7″E / 3.166583°S 16.181028°E / -3.166583; 16.181028 2°48′33.9″S 16°11′40.1″E / 2.809417°S 16.194472°E / -2.809417; 16.194472 2°12′22.9″S 16°10′49.0″E / 2.206361°S 16.180278°E / -2.206361; 16.180278 2°09′28.5″S 16°12′16.5″E / 2.157917°S 16.204583°E / -2.157917; 16.204583 1°52′15.5″S 16°30′43.4″E / 1.870972°S 16.512056°E / -1.870972; 16.512056 1°37′55.5″S 16°37′59.4″E / 1.632083°S 16.633167°E / -1.632083; 16.633167 1°14′22.2″S 16°47′44.5″E / 1.239500°S 16.795694°E / -1.239500; 16.795694 1°03′13.5″S 17°08′58.0″E / 1.053750°S 17.149444°E / -1.053750; 17.149444 0°54′39.2″S 17°23′27.1″E / 0.910889°S 17.390861°E / -0.910889; 17.390861 0°43′38.5″S 17°33′02.9″E / 0.727361°S 17.550806°E / -0.727361; 17.550806 0°41′00.4″S 17°36′43.7″E / 0.683444°S 17.612139°E / -0.683444; 17.612139 0°25′58.1″S 17°50′13.3″E / 0.432806°S 17.837028°E / -0.432806; 17.837028 0°01′17.4″N 18°13′10.9″E / 0.021500°N 18.219694°E / 0.021500; 18.219694 0°30′22.1″N 25°11′03.4″E / 0.506139°N 25.184278°E / 0.506139; 25.184278 The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from
490-480: Is referred to as " watershed management ". In Brazil , the National Policy of Water Resources, regulated by Act n° 9.433 of 1997, establishes the drainage basin as the territorial division of Brazilian water management. When a river basin crosses at least one political border, either a border within a nation or an international boundary, it is identified as a transboundary river . Management of such basins becomes
539-600: Is the Dead Sea . Drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important. For example, the English crown gave the Hudson's Bay Company a monopoly on the fur trade in the entire Hudson Bay basin, an area called Rupert's Land . Bioregional political organization today includes agreements of states (e.g., international treaties and, within
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#1733086087812588-469: Is used in worship in the two Protestant churches, Ngamakala and Ncasa; there are also smaller prayer chapels in the various wards of the town that are used for early morning prayers and for special services in the week during Holy Week. Congo River Measured along with the Lualaba, the main tributary, the Congo River has a total length of 4,370 km (2,720 mi). It is the only major river to cross
637-682: The African Great Lakes , the interiors of Australia and the Arabian Peninsula , and parts in Mexico and the Andes . Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, adjacent closed basins. In endorheic bodies of water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this
686-661: The Atlantic Ocean and an additional 6% of bedload . The river and its tributaries flow through the Congo rainforest , the second largest rainforest area in the world, after the Amazon rainforest in South America. The river also has the second-largest flow in the world, behind the Amazon ; the second-largest drainage basin of any river, behind the Amazon; and is one of the deepest rivers in
735-792: The Continental Divide , northern Alaska and parts of North Dakota , South Dakota , Minnesota , and Montana in the United States, the north shore of the Scandinavian peninsula in Europe, central and northern Russia, and parts of Kazakhstan and Mongolia in Asia , which totals to about 17% of the world's land. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean . Its basin includes much of China, eastern and southeastern Russia, Japan,
784-568: The Equator twice. The Congo Basin has a total area of about 4,000,000 km (1,500,000 sq mi), or 13% of the entire African landmass. The name Congo/Kongo originates from the Kingdom of Kongo once located on the southern bank of the river. The kingdom in turn was named after the indigenous Bantu Kongo people , known in the 17th century as "Esikongo". South of the Kingdom of Kongo proper lay
833-560: The Inga dams , about 200 kilometres (120 mi) southwest of Kinshasa. The project was launched in the early 1970s, when 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 (MW). To date only the Inga I and Inga II dams have been built, generating 1,776 MW. In February 2005, South Africa 's state-owned power company, Eskom , announced
882-681: The Korean Peninsula , most of Indochina, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Philippines, all of the Pacific Islands , the northeast coast of Australia , and Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide (including most of Alaska), as well as western Central America and South America west of the Andes. The Indian Ocean 's drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earth's land. It drains
931-560: 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 Muanda . Lower Congo constitutes the "lower" parts of the great river; that is
980-506: The Uíge Province in Angola to the confluence with the Congo at Zongo some 80 km (50 mi) downstream from the twin capitals. Because of the vast number of rapids, in particular the Livingstone Falls , this section of the river is not operated continuously by riverboats. The Congo basin covers ten countries and accounts for about 13% of Africa . The highest point in the Congo basin
1029-520: 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 13 percent of global hydropower potential. This would provide sufficient power for all of Sub-Saharan Africa 's electricity needs. Currently, there are about 40 hydropower plants in the Congo Basin. The largest are
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#17330860878121078-890: The Congo and the Republic of the Congo are named after it, as was the previous Republic of the Congo which had gained independence in 1960 from the Belgian Congo . The Republic of Zaire during 1971–1997 was also named after the river's name in French and Portuguese . The Congo's drainage basin covers 4,014,500 km (1,550,000 sq mi), an area nearly equal to that of the European Union . The Congo's discharge at its mouth ranges from 23,000 to 75,000 m /s (810,000 to 2,650,000 cu ft/s), with an average of 41,000 m /s (1,400,000 cu ft/s). The river transports annually 86 million tonnes of suspended sediment to
1127-624: 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 toward the northwest from Kisangani just below the Boyoma Falls, then gradually bends southwestward, passing by Mbandaka , joining with the Ubangi River and running into
1176-598: The US, interstate compacts ) or other political entities in a particular drainage basin to manage the body or bodies of water into which it drains. Examples of such interstate compacts are the Great Lakes Commission and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency . In hydrology , the drainage basin is a logical unit of focus for studying the movement of water within the hydrological cycle . The process of finding
1225-564: The USA until economic and political conditions deteriorated in the 1990s. The Baptist churches are part of the Communauté Baptiste du Fleuve Congo [CBFC], a constituent member of the Church of Christ in the Congo ( Eglise du Christ au Congo , ECC). There is also a Catholic church that was established by European missionary priests and sisters, including from Belgium, the former colonial power. Bobangi
1274-406: The basin, it can form tributaries that change the structure of the land. There are three different main types, which are affected by the rocks and ground underneath. Rock that is quick to erode forms dendritic patterns, and these are seen most often. The two other types of patterns that form are trellis patterns and rectangular patterns. Rain gauge data is used to measure total precipitation over
1323-430: The discharge of water from a basin may be made by a stream gauge located at the basin's outlet. Depending on the conditions of the drainage basin, as rainfall occurs some of it seeps directly into the ground. This water will either remain underground, slowly making its way downhill and eventually reaching the basin, or it will permeate deeper into the soil and consolidate into groundwater aquifers. As water flows through
1372-441: The drainage area is dependent on the soil type. Certain soil types such as sandy soils are very free-draining, and rainfall on sandy soil is likely to be absorbed by the ground. However, soils containing clay can be almost impermeable and therefore rainfall on clay soils will run off and contribute to flood volumes. After prolonged rainfall even free-draining soils can become saturated , meaning that any further rainfall will reach
1421-692: The drainage basin to the mouth, and may accumulate there, disturbing the natural mineral balance. This can cause eutrophication where plant growth is accelerated by the additional material. Because drainage basins are coherent entities in a hydrological sense, it has become common to manage water resources on the basis of individual basins. In the U.S. state of Minnesota , governmental entities that perform this function are called " watershed districts ". In New Zealand, they are called catchment boards. Comparable community groups based in Ontario, Canada, are called conservation authorities . In North America, this function
1470-726: The eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf , the Indian subcontinent , Burma, and most parts of Australia . The five largest river basins (by area), from largest to smallest, are those of the Amazon (7 million km ), the Congo (4 million km ), the Nile (3.4 million km ), the Mississippi (3.22 million km ), and the Río de la Plata (3.17 million km ). The three rivers that drain
1519-619: The four national languages of the DRC, is now used for trading and intertribal communication. Other local tribal groupings include the Bateke (the natives of this area) and Batende, who have their own Bantu languages. Bolobo was visited by Henry Morton Stanley on his trip down the Congo River in the 19th century. Pioneering missionary work was carried out by members of the Baptist Missionary Society , including George Grenfell operating from
Bolobo - Misplaced Pages Continue
1568-567: The greatest portion of western Sub-Saharan Africa , as well as Western Sahara and part of Morocco . The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic. The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U.S. interior between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains , a small part of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan , eastern Central America ,
1617-435: The ground and along rivers it can pick up nutrients , sediment , and pollutants . With the water, they are transported towards the outlet of the basin, and can affect the ecological processes along the way as well as in the receiving water body . Modern use of artificial fertilizers , containing nitrogen (as nitrates ), phosphorus , and potassium , has affected the mouths of drainage basins. The minerals are carried by
1666-744: The ground at its terminus, the area can go by several names, such playa, salt flat, dry lake , or alkali sink . The largest endorheic basins are in Central Asia , including the Caspian Sea , the Aral Sea , and numerous smaller lakes. Other endorheic regions include the Great Basin in the United States, much of the Sahara Desert , the drainage basin of the Okavango River ( Kalahari Basin ), highlands near
1715-619: The islands of the Caribbean and the Gulf, and a small part of northern South America. The Mediterranean Sea basin, with the Black Sea , includes much of North Africa , east-central Africa (through the Nile River ), Southern , Central, and Eastern Europe , Turkey , and the coastal areas of Israel , Lebanon , and Syria . The Arctic Ocean drains most of Western Canada and Northern Canada east of
1764-457: The most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganges , and Congo rivers. Endorheic basin are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Endorheic basins cover around 18% of the Earth's land. Some endorheic basins drain to an Endorheic lake or Inland sea . Many of these lakes are ephemeral or vary dramatically in size depending on climate and inflow. If water evaporates or infiltrates into
1813-597: The mouth heading upstream): Lower Congo (river mouth to Kinshasa ) Downstream of Kinshasa, from the river mouth at Banana , there are a few major tributaries. Middle Congo ( Kinshasa to the Boyoma Falls ) Upper Congo ( Lualaba ; upstream from the Boyoma Falls ) Although the Livingstone Falls prevent access from the sea, nearly the entire Congo above them is readily navigable in sections, especially between Kinshasa and Kisangani. Large river steamers worked
1862-418: The rainfall on the area of land included in its polygon. These polygons are made by drawing lines between gauges, then making perpendicular bisectors of those lines form the polygons. The isohyetal method involves contours of equal precipitation are drawn over the gauges on a map. Calculating the area between these curves and adding up the volume of water is time-consuming. Isochrone maps can be used to show
1911-625: The responsibility of the countries sharing it. Nile Basin Initiative , OMVS for Senegal River , Mekong River Commission are a few examples of arrangements involving management of shared river basins. Management of shared drainage basins is also seen as a way to build lasting peaceful relationships among countries. The catchment is the most significant factor determining the amount or likelihood of flooding . Catchment factors are: topography , shape, size, soil type, and land use (paved or roofed areas). Catchment topography and shape determine
1960-461: The river rather than being absorbed by the ground. If the surface is impermeable the precipitation will create surface run-off which will lead to higher risk of flooding; if the ground is permeable, the precipitation will infiltrate the soil. Land use can contribute to the volume of water reaching the river, in a similar way to clay soils. For example, rainfall on roofs, pavements , and roads will be collected by rivers with almost no absorption into
2009-506: The river until quite recently. The Congo River still is a lifeline in a land with few roads or railways. 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 Congo River is the most powerful river in Africa. During the rainy season over 50,000 cubic metres (1,800,000 cu ft) of water per second flows into
Bolobo - Misplaced Pages Continue
2058-576: The section of the river from the river mouth at the Atlantic coast to the twin capitals of Brazzaville and Kinshasa. In this section of the river, there are two significant tributaries, both on the left or south side. The Kwilu River originates in the hills near the Angolan border and enters the Congo some 100 km upstream from Matadi . The other is the Inkisi River , that flows in a northerly direction from
2107-502: The similarly named Kakongo kingdom, mentioned in 1535. Abraham Ortelius labelled "Manicongo" as the city at the mouth of the river in his world map of 1564. The tribal names in Kongo possibly derive from a word for a public gathering or tribal assembly. The modern name of the Kongo people or Bakongo was introduced in the early 20th century. The name Zaire is from a Portuguese adaptation of
2156-418: The speed with which the runoff reaches a river. A long thin catchment will take longer to drain than a circular catchment. Size will help determine the amount of water reaching the river, as the larger the catchment the greater the potential for flooding. It is also determined on the basis of length and width of the drainage basin. Soil type will help determine how much water reaches the river. The runoff from
2205-477: The steamer "Peace". Another pioneering missionary was A.N. Whitehead (known as "Moteyi Nkasa" in Bobangi), who was responsible for the production of a grammar and dictionary in that language. The Baptist Missionary Society established a hospital, primary and secondary schools, a printing press, and a Bible Institute for training pastors. It was served by expatriate personnel from Britain and some Peace Corps workers from
2254-415: The time taken for rain to reach the river, while catchment size, soil type, and development determine the amount of water to reach the river. Generally, topography plays a big part in how fast runoff will reach a river. Rain that falls in steep mountainous areas will reach the primary river in the drainage basin faster than flat or lightly sloping areas (e.g., > 1% gradient). Shape will contribute to
2303-477: The time taken for runoff water within a drainage basin to reach a lake, reservoir or outlet, assuming constant and uniform effective rainfall. Drainage basins are the principal hydrologic unit considered in fluvial geomorphology . A drainage basin is the source for water and sediment that moves from higher elevation through the river system to lower elevations as they reshape the channel forms. Drainage basins are important in ecology . As water flows over
2352-585: The world's land drains to the Atlantic Ocean . In North America , surface water drains to the Atlantic via the Saint Lawrence River and Great Lakes basins, the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the Canadian Maritimes , and most of Newfoundland and Labrador . Nearly all of South America east of the Andes also drains to the Atlantic, as does most of Western and Central Europe and
2401-546: The world, at depths greater than 220 m (720 ft). 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 . 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
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