File:Aerial_view_of_the_Congo_River_near_Kisangani.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ3503· pop 160· linked from 1,300 articles

Congo

Also known as Zaire River, Congo River, Zaire

river in central Africa

AI overview

The Congo is a major river in central Africa that flows through several countries and is the second-longest river on the continent. It matters because it is a vital source of water, transportation, and resources for millions of people in the region and plays an important role in the local environment and economy.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: river
Country: Zambia
Located in: Kongo Central
Continent: Africa
Elevation: 32
Image: Sunrise near Mossaka (Congo).JPG
Length: 4700

Show 11 more facts

Commons category: Congo River
topic's main category: Category:Congo River
category for the water basin: Category:Congo drainage basin
Commons gallery: Congo River
watershed area: 401450000
discharge: 41800
drainage basin: Congo Basin
origin of the watercourse: Lualaba River
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
basin country: Tanzania
mouth of the watercourse: Atlantic Ocean

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~21 min read

Encyclopedic overview

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–Brahmaputra 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).

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 the equator twice. The Congo Basin has a total area of about 4,000,000 km (1,500,000 mi), or 13% of the entire African landmass.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Congo” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.