Which Rivers to Visit on a Congo Tour
Have you ever imagined about the longest Rivers in the world? The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not only credited for its stunning mountain gorillas and Eastern Lowland gorillas but also for its outstanding longest and largest Rivers. DRC is popular for many large, deep and long Rivers. DR Congo is therefore characterized by tropical rain forest climate. It is largely covered by thick grasslands especially in the Southern area and the mountainous plateaus as well as savannas in the Northern area. Its longest Rivers are of economic, environmental and topography significance.
Below are some of the exceptional Rivers in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Congo River
The River Congo is undoubtedly Africa’s most powerful water body. It features as the second longest in Africa, second largest River in the world with a discharge of about 1500000 cubic feet of water per second and the world’s deepest River with its depth measuring about 220 meters. Its length stretches up to 4700 kilometers. Globally featuring the 9th longest River and drains the basin of about 3884982.166 square kilometers. Historically, the Congo River was referred as a “heart of darkness” by Joseph Conrad, while the River and vicinity tropical forest were best known as the mysterious place of pygmies, mythical beasts, dreadful plagues and cannibals. The climate in this area is mainly of rain forest featuring thick forests that offer refuge to abundant wildlife, heavy rainfall amount, warm and humid weather due to location around the Equator. River Congo is significantly impacted by shifts in the ecological balance.
Besides, it features several stories of slavery, colonialism and independence. The Congo River is as violent as its past but it starts harmoniously in the savannas South of Lake Tanganyika. It widens and picks up speed till it enters the “gates of hell” about 75 miles long canyon of impassable rapids. River Congo is filled by stunning tropical rain forest at Upper Congo. The River crosses the Equator two times. Since the watershed of the Congo drains from the Northern and southern hemisphere, it doesn’t possess a lot of seasonal fluctuations in water level as other great Rivers. Its flow is relatively stable given the fact part of its watershed is usually in the zone of rain. The Upper Congo features Stanley falls which is nearly 60 mile stretch of water rapids.
The Stanley waterfalls offer a route to the Middle Congo about 1000 mile stretch of navigable River, 9 miles wide in other areas. This also comes with Kisangani city-a town which is popular for violence since times of the Belgian colonialists. Towards the end of the Middle Congo, the River slows to almost stand still (20miles) a part best known as Stanley or Malebo pool. At this point, Congo River is 15 miles wide and flanked by Kinshasa capital city and Brazzaville. The harmony of the pool is abruptly broken by Livingstone waterfalls that feature several rapids and cataracts 220 miles long, possessing the strength as the entire River and waterfalls in the United States. The last 160.934 kilometers to the Atlantic Ocean from the end of the falls is navigable. Whereas it is mainly linked to DR Congo and the Republic of Congo, its tributaries flow via a ten (10) states. River Congo begins close to East African Rift and flows via Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi. It offers refuge to at least 4000 islands though they are not virgin islands per say. About 50 islands in the Congo River stretch up to 10 miles long, they come and disappear due to constant changes in the River. It is also a home to over 700 fish species.
Usefulness of River Congo
Congo River is a major transportation hub in Central Africa. The River together with its streams which flow into it offer about 14500 kilometers of navigable shipping routed in Central Africa whereby the largest amounts of goods are traversed through the River each day.
It is exceptionally the most outstanding water body in African continent. It features in average 41000 cubic meters water flows into the Atlantic Ocean every second from the River. There are about 40 hydropower plants along the River which use its strength to offer energy to different African countries where it crosses.
The River Nile
This is another incredible Rivers that is shared by 10 states including the Democratic Republic of Congo. It stretches about 7287.11 kilometers long with its two main tributaries, mainly the White Nile and the Blue Nile. It features as the main source of income as it is used for transportation, cultivation of crops and fishing by adjacent communities.
River Kasai
This is a 2153.302 kilometer water body that comes with its longest tributary the River Congo. It is located along the Angola and the DR Congo border. It originated from the highlands of Central Angola. The tributaries of Kasai River are free from cataracts and weed, making it one of the best navigable water bodies in the country. It features diamonds that also attracted the Portuguese and the British during the colonial times and also helped in navigation of slaves. However, it is still used for navigation purposes. Besides it features a tropical climate with a mean temperature of 23 degrees Celsius and annual rainfall of about 1400-1700 millimeters in the north and about 2000 millimeters in the southern part of Kasai. This water body offers refuge to 200 fish species. It also experiences flooding that result into seasonal and permanent swamps.
Lualaba River
This stretches to about 1800 kilometers long. It flows in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Lualaba River borders the Upemba National Park, protecting habitats on the Kibara plateau in Katanga province of the Southeastern DR Congo. The major activity here is fishing and there are many towns along this water body. It rises at altitude 1400 meters above sea level and flows northwards to Kisangani where the Congo River starts from.
In conclusion, besides spectacular wildlife species, the Democratic Republic of Congo also offers refuge to the longest, largest and deepest Rivers in the world as well as several natural wonders that are globally sought after. A part from the above mentioned Rivers, there is also Lomami, the Sankuru, the White Nile and the Kwango.
