The Congo River fleuve Congo, in the past also known as the Zaire River) is a river
in Africa and the world's deepest river with measured depths in excess of 220 m. It is
the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged. Additionally, its overall
length of 4,700 km 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.
Basin and course The Congo's drainage basin covers 4,014,500
square kilometres. The Congo's discharge at its mouth ranges from 23,000 cubic metres
per second to 75,000 cubic metres per second, with an average of 41,000 cubic metres per
second. 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
Plate rivers; and is one of the deepest rivers in the world, at depths greater than 220 m.
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
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. Kinshasa 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, 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
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,
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
The Congo River is the most powerful river in Africa. During the rainy season over 50,000
cubic meters 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. Currently there are about forty hydropower
plants in the Congo Basin. The largest is the Inga Falls dam, about 200 km southwest
of Kinshasa. The prestigious Inga Project was launched in the early 1970s 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.
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.
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.
Natural history
The Congo River formed 1.5-2 million years BP during the Pleistocene.
The Congo's formation may have led to the allopatric speciation of the bonobo and the
common chimpanzee from their most recent common ancestor. 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. In terms of aquatic life, the Congo River
Basin has a very high species richness, and among the highest known concentrations of
endemics. Until now, almost 700 fish species have been recorded from the Congo River Basin,
and large sections remain virtually unstudied. Due to this and the great ecological differences
between the regions in the basin, it is often divided into multiple ecoregions. Among these
ecoregions, the Lower Congo Rapids alone has more than 300 fish species, including approximately
80 endemics while the southwestern part alone has more than 200 fish species, of which about
a quarter are endemic. The dominant fish families–at least in parts of the river–are Cyprinidae,
Mormyridae, Alestidae, Mochokidae, and Cichlidae. Among the natives in the river is the huge,
highly carnivorous giant tigerfish. Two of the more unusual endemic cichlids are the
whitish and blind Lamprologus lethops, which is believed to live as deep as 160 metres
below the surface, and Heterochromis multidens, which appears to be more closely related to
cichlids of the Americas than other Africa cichlid. There are also numerous endemic frogs
and snails. Several hydroelectric dams are planned on the river, and these may lead to
the extinction of many of the endemics. Several species of turtles, and the slender-snouted,
Nile and dwarf crocodile are native to the Congo River Basin. African manatees inhabit
the lower parts of the river. Tributaries
Literature 1837: Silence – A Fable is a short story
by Edgar Allan Poe, written in 1837. 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, 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. 1902: Although not explicitly cited, the Congo
River provides the setting for Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel Heart of Darkness.
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".
1930: Both Congo River and basin form the setting of Hoity Toity, the Soviet science
fiction novel by Alexander Belyayev. 1980: The Congo River is featured in a chapter
of Michael Crichton's novel Congo, 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.
1998: The river's history is discussed in the 1998 book King Leopold's Ghost.
2006: The river's history is discussed in the book Brazza, A Life for Africa.
2007: The Congo River and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the scenario for the 2007 book
Blood River by journalist Tim Butcher, 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, 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, a fictionalisation of episodes
in the life of the Irishman Roger Casement. The book is to be published in English in
2012. 2012: Phil Harwood's book "Canoeing the Congo"
and amateur film "Mazungu Canoeing the Congo" document his five month solo journey by Canadian
canoe. See also
Hydrology transport model Portage railway
Congo Basin Niger river
References
External links The Royal Geography Society's Hidden Journeys
project: The River Congo Basin
Audio slideshow: The River Congo: Following in Explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley's Footsteps
- Tim Butcher recounts his trip through the Congo on the route of 19th century explorer
Sir Henry Morgan Stanley.
Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library
Map of the Congo River basin at Water Resources eAtlas
The Congo Project, American Museum of Natural History
Interesting pictures and details to see