# Congo Basin

Congo Basin

drainage basin| Drainage basin | Atlantic Ocean drainage basin  |
| Continent | Africa  |
| Located in or next to body of water | Congo River  |
| Coordinate location | 0°0′0″N 22°0′0″E  |
| Highest point | Mount Karisimbi  |
| Dey share bother plus | Nile basin, Zambezi Basin  |

Course den drainage basin of de Congo River
De **Congo Basin** be de sedimentary basin of de Congo River. De Congo Basin be located insyd Central Africa, insyd a region dem know as west equatorial Africa. De Congo Basin region be sometimes known simply as d**e Congo**. E dey contain sum of de largest tropical rainforests insyd de world den be an important source of water used insyd agriculture den energy generation.

De rainforest insyd de Congo Basin be de largest rainforest insyd Africa den second only to de Amazon rainforest insyd size, plus 300 million hectares compared to de 800 million hectares insyd de Amazon. Secof ein size den diversity de basin ein forest be important for mitigating climate change insyd ein role as a carbon sink. However, deforestation den degradation of de ecology by de impacts of de climate change fi increase stress on de forest ecosystem, in turn dey make de hydrology of de basin more variable. A 2012 study found dat de variability insyd precipitation wey cause by climate change go negatively affect economic activity insyd de basin.

Eight sites of de Congo Basin be inscribed on de World Heritage List, five sanso be on de list of World Heritage insyd Danger (all five located insyd Democratic Republic of de Congo). Fourteen percent of de humid forest be designated as protected.

## Geology

De Congo Basin be a large depression within de Congo Craton, wey dey make am a patch of relatively recent (Phanerozoic-aged, den mostly Mesozoic & onwards) sedimentary rock within a large, otherwise extremely ancient (Archean-aged) piece of exposed continental crust. De deformation of de Craton begin as early as de late Cambrian anaa early Ordovician den continued over de Paleozoic, buh de deformation over dis period dey lead to rapid erosion of much of dis Paleozoic rock, wey dey create a large unconformity. Sediment start to rapidly accumulate insyd de basin from de Mesozoic (Triassic) up to de present day.

Deposits throughout de Jurassic suggest de presence of a freshwater, lacustrine habitat insyd de basin, den dis continued into de Early Cretaceous. By de start of de Late Cretaceous, a connection plus de Trans-Saharan seaway wey lead to a significant marine incursion into de basin (evidence of an earlier, Late Jurassic marine intrusion be disputed), wey dey cause am to serve as a connection between de southern Atlantic Ocean den de Tethys Ocean. Chaw of de formations deposited by dese freshwater den marine habitats be rich insyd pollen, invertebrate, den vertebrate (primarily fish) fossils. Kimberlite pipes wey dem think to form during de Cretaceous, possibly due to a shock from a sudden decrease insyd de rate of seafloor spreading of de southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, be de source of de region ein famous diamonds.

By de Cenozoic, an uplift insyd de borders of de Cuvette Centrale block any further marine connections. During de Paleogene, high rainfall turned de basin into a series of marshy ponds den swamps. A shift to more arid conditions plus seasonal droughts occur plus de start of de Neogene. Later insyd de Neogene, a sudden shift to fluvial deposits suggests a dramatic return to wetter conditions.

De following sedimentary geological formations be deposited insyd de basin:

* Late Carboniferous /Permian - Lukuga Formation (part of de Lower Karoo)
* Early Triassic to Early Jurassic - Haute Lueki Formation (part of Upper karoo)
* Late Jurassic - Stanleyville Formation
* Early Cretaceous - Loia Formation, Kamina Series
* Late Cretaceous - Bokungu Formation, Kwango Series (Nsele Group, Inzia Group)
* Paleogene - Kwango Formation, Kalahari System, Sables Bateke Series
* Neogene - Limons Series, Kalahari System, Sables Bateke Series

## Description

Course den drainage basin of de Congo River plus countries dem mark
Congo be a traditional name for de equatorial Middle Africa dat lies between de Gulf of Guinea den de African Great Lakes. De basin dey begin insyd de highlands of de East African Rift system plus input from de Chambeshi, de Uele den Ubangi rivers insyd de upper reaches den de Lualaba River draining wetlands insyd de middle reaches. Secof de young age den active uplift of de East African Rift at de headwaters, de river ein yearly sediment load be very large, but de drainage basin occupies large areas of low relief throughout much of ein area. E be delineated largely by swells wey dey include de Bie, Mayumbe, Adamlia, Nile-Congo, East African, den Zambian Swells.

Isangi people living on de Congo River
De basin ends wey de river dey empty into de Gulf of Guinea on de Atlantic Ocean. De basin be a total of 3.7 million square kilometres den be home to some of de largest undisturbed stands of tropical rainforest on de planet, insyd addition to large wetlands.

Countries wholly anaa partially insyd de Congo region:

* Angola
* Gabon
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Central African Republic
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Rwanda
* Tanzania
* Zambia

## History

De first inhabitants of de Congo Basin area be believed to be pygmies, den at dat time, de dense forests den wet climate kept de population of de region low, plus de prevention of hunter-gatherer society, whose remnants of dema culture survive to de present day. Eventually Bantub peoples migrate der wey dem found de Kingdom of Kongo.

Belgium, France, den Portugal later establish colonial control over de entire region by de late 19th century. De General Act of de Berlin Conference of 1885 give a precise definition to de "conventional basin" of de Congo, wich include de entire actual basin plus sum oda areas. De General Act bound ein signatories to neutrality within de conventional basin, but dis no be respected during de First World War.

Map of de Conventional Congo Basin
De World Resources Institute estimate dat 80 million people live insyd den around de Congo Basin.

Pygmy hunter-gatherers insyd de Central African Republic.
## Climate

De Congo Basin be a globally important climatic region plus annual rainfall of between 1500 den 2000mm. E be one of three hotspots of deep convection (thunderstorms) insyd de tropics, de oda two be over de Maritime continent den de Amazon. Dese three regions togeda drive de climate circulation of de tropics den beyond. De Congo Basin get de highest lightning strike frequency of anywhere on de planet. De high rainfall dey support de second largest rainforest on Earth, wich be a globally significant carbon sink den an important component of de global carbon cycle.

Averaged across de whole basin, der be two major rainfall seasons insyd March to May den September to November. Insyd both hemispheres de rainfall maximises insyd September to November, at above 210mm per month. Insyd northern hemisphere winter, rainfall be relatively low to de north of de equator (<80mm per month). Insyd southern hemisphere winter, rainfall be instead lower to de south of de equator (<80mm per month). De annual rhythm of de wind systems wich carry water vapour account for de rainfall seasonality. Much of de rainfall be derived from large Mesoscale convective systems. De systems last over 11 hours on average wey dem get a mean size wey dey exceed 500 km2 insyd some parts of de Congo Basin.

Aerial view of de Lukenie River as e dey meander thru de Central Congolian lowland forests
Temperatures insyd de Congo Basin (usually between 20 den 30°C) be lower dan insyd de African desert regions to de north (De Sahara) den to de south (Kalahari). De differences insyd temperature between de deserts den de Congo Basin be important for driving wind systems known as African easterly jets, wich affect climate den weather insyd de Sahel den Southern Africa.

Future climate projections indicate dat de region fit get hotter insyd response to global climate change. Der be more uncertainty over how average rainfall insyd de region go change, plus de climate models used by de Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) dey disagree on core elements of de rainfall distribution insyd de region. While de average rainfall change be uncertain, E be likely dat extreme rainfall events fi cam be more extreme owing to de increases insyd water vapour insyd de atmosphere.

Owing to de global climatic importance of de Congo Basin, e be suggested dat, along plus de Amazon, severe changes insyd de rainfall anaa climate of de Congo Rainforest fi act as a 'tipping point', plus widespread impacts on de Earth System.

## National parks

* Lobéké National Park
* Lomami National Park
* Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park
* Ntokou-Pikounda National Park
* Odzala-Kokoua National Park
* Salonga National Park
* Virunga National Park
* Garamba National Park
* Kundelungu National Park
* Kahuzi-Biega National Park
* Upemba National Park
* Maiko National Park

* Pygmies.org: African Pygmies website — *first inhabitants of the Congo Basin rainforests*.