Key Facts about Congo River

About Congo River:

• The Congo River, or Zaire River, is a river in west-central Africa. 
• With a length of 2,900 miles (4,700 km), it is the continent’s second longest river, after the Nile.
• It is also the world's second-largest river by discharge volume after the Amazon River.
• It is also the world's deepest river, with a maximum depth of 720 feet (220m), too deep for light to penetrate.
• Course:
  • Origin: It rises in the highlands of northeastern Zambia between Lakes Tanganyika and Nyasa (Malawi) as the Chambeshi River at an elevation of 5,760 feet (1,760 metres) above sea level.
  • Its course then takes the form of a giant counterclockwise arc, flowing to the northwest, west, and southwest before draining into the Atlantic Ocean at Banana (Banane) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • The Congo River zigzags across the equator twice as it flows.
  • It also empties water and sediment into one of the largest carbon sinks in the world, the Congo Plume in the Atlantic.
  • The Congo River system runs through the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, western Zambia, northern Angola, and parts of Cameroon and Tanzania.
• Its drainage basin covers an area of 1,335,000 square miles (3,457,000 square km). It's the world's second-largest river basin, after the Amazon River Basin.
  • The basin is bordered by the Sahara Desert to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west, and the East African lakes region to the east.
• Major Tributaries: Lomami, Kasai, Lulonga, Ubangi, Aruwimi, Itimbiri, and Mongala rivers.
• The mix of equatorial climate and massive water source provided by the river provides the perfect ingredients for the second-largest tropical rainforestin the world, the Congo Basin rainforest. 
• The Congo is easily navigable for most of its length, and much of the trade of Central Africa passes along it.

Q1: What is a tropical rainforest?

Tropical rainforests are luxuriant forests found in wet tropical uplands and lowlands around the Equator. Tropical rainforests, which worldwide make up one of Earth’s largest biomes (major life zones), are dominated by broad-leaved trees that form a dense upper canopy (layer of foliage) and contain a diverse array of vegetation and other life. 

Source: The world’s chocolate cravings speed up deforestation in the Congo Basin: Study