The Deepest River in the World
The Democratic Republic of Congo is well known for its abundance in strategic mineral resources, a blessing that many nations can only admire. That is not enough; DRC also contains more than half of the remaining Congo Basin rain-forest, the second-largest tropical forest on Earth. The forest is home to endangered wildlife like forest elephants, chimpanzees, bonobos, and lowland and mountain gorillas etc. If you think that is amazing, wait for the next one; cutting across the nation is another major resource, the world deepest river; The Congo River.
The river, which is also known as Zaire River, has its deepest point at approximately 220 meters (720 feet). This depth makes the Congo River about 19.5 meters (64 feet) deeper than the second deepest river in the world; Yangtze River in China. By discharge volume, it is the second-largest river in the world by after the Amazon River in South America. What makes Congo River interesting is that it’s also amazingly long. It stretches for approximately 4370 meters (2,715 miles), making it the second-longest in Africa after Nile River and the 9th longest river on the planet.
Congo River: Flow and Potential
Geologists believe that the Congo River shaped approximately 1.5 to 2 million years ago during the Pleistocene period. It has its sources at the highlands of north-east of Zambia and flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Banane, within the DRC. It flows through the countries of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, intersecting the equator twice. However, its tributaries drain large parts of land in Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Central Africa and Cameroon.
There are over 4000 islands within the river; over 50 of the islands are 10 miles long. The river is home into a wide variety of fauna including the animals like; hippos, crocodiles and at very least 700 species of sea creatures. The river offers an essential mode of transport and supports fishing, farming and hydro-power generation. The economic potential of the Congo River is still underutilized, especially in transport and hydro-power generation. Scientists believe that Congo River and its tributaries amount to 13% of global hydro-power potential, which is sufficient power for all of sub-Saharan Africa’s electricity needs. Now you know.
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