Democratic Republic of Congo

Relief and lakes:

The Democratic Republic of Congo, known as Zaire in the past is a republic with a very complex relief, starting with a low plain region covered with tropical forests in west, north and center where is Congo Depression and continuing with a plateau and low mountains in south. It also has high mountains in east where the territory is crossed by the Great Rift Valley, an unstable territory that gave birth to some of the most beautiful African lakes, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Albert. The maximum elevation is in the peak Margherita from the Ruwenzori Mountains at 5.110 m height.

Rivers, population and agriculture of Democratic Republic of Congo:

Among the most important aspects of the Democratic Republic of Congo is the presence of the great basin of the Congo River, one of the longest rivers in Africa. The territory is crossed by its numerous tributaries, among the most important are Ubangi, Tshuapa, Lualaba, Lomami and Kasai. The tropical forests present here represent a large part of the rainforests from Africa and approximately 5-6% of the world’s rainforests. The population mostly rural has the main activity the agriculture, cultivating rice, manioc, peanuts, cofee trees, cacao trees and orchards.

Fauna and flora and the capital:

Unfortunately the infrastructure and the transport ways are limited and the life is modest despite the export of copper, diamonds, timber, oil and cobalt that bring a large part of the country’s earnings. The fauna and flora of this country are rich in species and here are also living some endangered species like mountain gorillas and leopards. (Find more journeys on blog.worldlifetimejourneys.com) The capital Kinshasa is a real African metropolis and is very close to Congo’s capital separated by it through the Congo River. The Democratic Republic of Congo obtained the independence from Belgium at 30 June 1960. Visit the Democratic Republic of Congo!

Sunset over Lake Tanganyika,
Democratic Republic of Congo