Congo River

Congo River

The Congo River, formerly known as the Zaire River, is Africa's second longest river, shorter only than the Nile, and the world's third largest river by discharge, after the Amazon and the Ganges. It is also the deepest river in the world, with a recorded depth of 219.5 m. The total length of the Congo-Lualaba-Chambeshi River system is 4,700 km, making it the ninth longest river in the world. This is the only great river that crosses the Equator twice. The total area of the Congo Basin is approximately 4 000 000 km2, which is 13% of the total African land area. The name Congo comes from the Kingdom of Kongo, which once lay on the southern bank of the river. The kingdom was named after the indigenous Bantu Kongo people, known as the "Esikongo" in the 17th century. The Congo River and its tributaries run through the Congo rainforest, which is the second largest area of rainforest in the world after the Amazon rainforest in South America. The Congo's waters are home to many species of reptiles, of which crocodiles are the most distinctive. There are also several species of semi-aquatic turtles and water snakes. Aquatic mammals are rare in the Congo, with only the hippo, two species of otter and the manatee living in the area. The manatee, who lives entirely in water, has been identified officially only in the Sangha tributary, but seems to have been the subject of strange legends in the lower Congo, including its relationship with a creature called Mami Wata, about which African slaves carried stories to the Americas.