page_title: Congo River
section_title: Tributaries to the Congo river
hierarchical_section_title: Congo River / Basin and course / Tributaries to the Congo river
caption_attribution_description: English: Course and Watershed of the Congo and Lualaba River with political boundaries. Deutsch: Verlauf und Einzugsgebiet von Kongo und Lualaba mit Staatsgrenzen.
context_page_description: The Congo River, formerly known as the Zaire River during the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge volume, following only the Amazon. It is also the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths in excess of 220 m.
  The Congo-Lualaba-Chambeshi River system has an overall length of 4,700 km, 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.
  Measured along with the Lualaba, the main tributary, the Congo River has a total length of 4,370 km. It is the only major river to cross the equator twice. The Congo Basin has a total area of about 4,000,000 km², or 13% of the entire African landmass.
context_section_description: The drainage basin of the Congo River includes most of Central Africa. The main river and tributaries are:
  Sorted in order from the mouth heading upstream.
  Lower Congo (river mouth to Kinshasa)
  Downstream of Kinshasa, from the river mouth at Banana, there are a few major tributaries, all on the left side.
  Mpozo
  Kwilu
  Inkisi
  Middle Congo (Kinshasa to the Boyoma Falls)
  Kwa-Kassai (left) – 2150 km – 881,900 km², 9,900 m³/s
  Fimi
  Lukenie
  Kwango
  Sankuru
  Lefini (right)
  Sangha (right) – 1,400 km, 213,400 km², 2,471 m³/s
  Kadéï
  Ubangi/ (right) – 2,270 km,  772,800 km², 4,000 m³/s
  Mbomou
  Uele
  Tshuapa or Ruki River (left) – 1,000 km
  Lulonga
  Lopori
  Maringa
  Mongala
  Itimbiri River
  Aruwimi
  Lomami River (left) – 1,400 km
  Lindi
  Upper Congo (Upstream from the Boyoma Falls)
  Upstream of Boyoma Falls near Kisangani, the river Congo is known as the Lualaba River.
  Several right bank tributaries
  Luvua
  Luapula
  Chambeshi
caption: Course and Drainage basin of the Congo River with countries marked
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