Congo River | Africa’s 2nd Longest River, Wildlife & History

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class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Congo-River">Congo River</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/place/Congo-River">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref37044"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/Physical-features">Physical features</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref37045"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/Physical-features#ref37045">Physiography</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref37046"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/Hydrology">Hydrology</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref37047"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/Hydrology#ref37047">Climate</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref37048"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/Plant-life">Plant life</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref37049"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/Animal-life">Animal life</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref37050"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/The-people-and-the-economy">The people and the economy</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref37051"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/The-people-and-the-economy#ref37051">Life of the river peoples</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref37052"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/The-people-and-the-economy#ref37052">Transportation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref37053"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/The-people-and-the-economy#ref37053">Power</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref37054"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Congo-River/Study-and-exploration">Study and exploration</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Congo-River/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Congo-River">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Congo-River/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/72/5372-050-AD3E389B/basin-Congo-River-drainage-network-physical-features-elevation.jpg" data-href="/media/1/132484/201" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/72/5372-004-58E59C4E/basin-Congo-River-drainage-network-physical-features-elevation.jpg" alt="Congo River basin and drainage network" height="50" /> </a> <a 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Author of <i>Le Gabon (</i>vol. 1–2<i>).</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Roland Pourtier</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Gilles-Francois-Sautter/2597" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Gilles François Sautter</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Professor of Geography, University of Paris I <i>(</i>Panthéon-Sorbonne<i>). </i>Author of <i>De l'Atlantique au fleuve Congo.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Gilles François Sautter</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Congo-River/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-01-28T00:00:00CST" >Jan 28, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Congo-River/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Formerly: </dt> <dd>Zaire River</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000382782/PDF/382782eng.pdf.multi" target="_blank">UNESCO Digital Library - The Congo - The River that Makes the Heart of Africa Beat (PDF)</a> (Jan. 28, 2025)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Congo-River"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref417855"></span>Congo River</strong>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/river" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">river</a> in west-central <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Africa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Africa</a>. With a length of 2,900 miles (4,700 km), it is the continent’s second longest river, after the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Nile-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nile</a>. It rises in the highlands of northeastern <span id="ref417856"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Zambia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Zambia</a> between Lakes <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Tanganyika" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tanganyika</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Nyasa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nyasa</a> (Malawi) as the <span id="ref417857"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Chambeshi-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chambeshi River</a> at an elevation of 5,760 feet (1,760 metres) above <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sea-level" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">sea level</a> and at a distance of about 430 miles (700 km) from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Indian-Ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Indian Ocean</a>. Its course then takes the form of a giant counterclockwise arc, flowing to the northwest, west, and southwest before draining into the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-Ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Atlantic Ocean</a> at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Banana-Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Banana</a> (Banane) in the <span id="ref417858"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Democratic-Republic-of-the-Congo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a>. Its <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/drainage-basin" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">drainage basin</a>, covering an area of 1,335,000 square miles (3,457,000 square km), takes in almost the entire territory of that country, as well as most of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Republic-of-the-Congo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Republic of the Congo</a>, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Central-African-Republic" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Central African Republic</a>, eastern <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Zambia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Zambia</a>, and northern <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Angola" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Angola</a> and parts of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cameroon" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cameroon</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Tanzania" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tanzania</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">With its many tributaries, the Congo forms the continent’s largest network of navigable waterways. Navigability, however, is limited by an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="insurmountable" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/insurmountable" data-type="EB">insurmountable</a> obstacle: a series of 32 cataracts over the river’s lower course, including the famous <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Livingstone-Falls" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Inga Falls</a>. These cataracts render the Congo unnavigable between the seaport of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Matadi" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Matadi</a>, at the head of the Congo estuary, and <span id="ref417861"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Malebo-Pool" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Malebo Pool</a>, a lakelike expansion of the river. It was on opposite banks of Malebo Pool—which represents the point of departure of inland navigation—that the capitals of the former states of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/French-Congo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">French Congo</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Belgian-Congo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Belgian Congo</a> were founded: on the left bank <span id="ref417862"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kinshasa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kinshasa</a> (formerly Léopoldville), now the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and on the right bank <span id="ref417863"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Brazzaville" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Brazzaville</a>, now the capital of the Republic of the Congo.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <span id="ref417864"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Amazon-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Amazon</a> and the Congo are the two great rivers of the world that flow out of equatorial zones where heavy rainfall occurs throughout all or almost all of the year. Upstream from Malebo Pool, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Congo-Basin" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Congo basin</a> receives an average of about 60 inches (1,500 mm) of rain a year, of which more than one-fourth is <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="discharged" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/discharged" data-type="EB">discharged</a> into the Atlantic. The drainage basin of the Congo is, however, only about half the size of that of the Amazon, and the Congo’s rate of flow—1,450,000 cubic feet (41,000 cubic metres) per second at its mouth—is considerably less than the Amazon’s flow of more than 6,180,000 cubic feet (175,000 cubic metres) per second.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">While the Chambeshi River, as the remotest source, may form the Congo’s original main stream in terms of the river’s length, it is another tributary—the <span id="ref417865"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lualaba-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lualaba</a>, which rises near Musofi in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo—that carries the greatest quantity of water and thus may be considered as forming the Congo’s original main stream in terms of water volume.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">When the river first became known to Europeans at the end of the 15th century, they called it the Zaire, a corruption of a word that is variously given as <em>nzari</em>, <em>nzali</em>, <em>njali</em>, <em>nzaddi</em>, and <em>niadi</em> and that simply means “river” in local African languages. It was only in the early years of the 18th century that the river was first called the “Rio Congo,” a name taken from the kingdom of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kongo-historical-kingdom-Africa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kongo</a> that had been situated along the lower course of the river. During the period (1971–97) when the Democratic Republic of the Congo was called Zaire, the government also renamed the river the Zaire. Even during that time, however, the river continued to be known throughout the world as the Congo. To the literary-minded the river is <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="evocative" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evocative" data-type="MW">evocative</a> of the famous 1902 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/short-story" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">short story</a> “<span id="ref417866"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Heart-of-Darkness" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Heart of Darkness</a>” by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Conrad" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Joseph Conrad</a>. His book conjured up an atmosphere of foreboding, treachery, greed, and exploitation. Today, however, the Congo appears as the key to the economic development of the central African interior.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/africas-physical-features" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/153438-131-03131498/Mount-Kenya.jpg" alt="Mount Kenya in Mount Kenya National Park is the highest mountain in Africa. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Giant Lobelia in foreground. (Mt. Kenya; Mt. Kenya National Park; mountains; rugged mountain; African geography, African landscape, stratovolcano)" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Africa’s Physical Features</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":7,"pageId":132484,"pageLength":661,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Congo River | Africa’s 2nd Longest River, Wildlife & History | Britannica