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50-632: Measured along with the Lualaba, the main tributary, the Congo River has a total length of 4,370 km (2,720 mi). It is the only major river to cross the Equator twice. The Congo Basin has a total area of about 4,000,000 km (1,500,000 sq mi), or 13% of the entire African landmass. The name Congo/Kongo originates from the Kingdom of Kongo once located on the southern bank of

100-488: A meridian (a great circle passing through the two poles). The IUGG standard meridian is, to the nearest millimetre, 40,007.862917 kilometres (24,859.733480 mi), one arc-minute of which is 1,852.216 metres (6,076.82 ft), explaining the SI standardization of the nautical mile as 1,852 metres (6,076 ft), more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) less than the geographical mile . The sea-level surface of Earth (the geoid )

150-546: A planet ) is the parallel (circle of latitude) at which latitude is defined to be 0°. It is an imaginary line on the spheroid, equidistant from its poles , dividing it into northern and southern hemispheres. In other words, it is the intersection of the spheroid with the plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation and midway between its geographical poles . On and near the Equator (on Earth), noontime sunlight appears almost directly overhead (no more than about 23° from

200-499: A person on Earth, the Sun appears to travel along the equator (or along the celestial equator) at these times. Locations on the equator experience the shortest sunrises and sunsets because the Sun's daily path is nearly perpendicular to the horizon for most of the year. The length of daylight (sunrise to sunset) is almost constant throughout the year; it is about 14 minutes longer than nighttime due to atmospheric refraction and

250-431: A proposal to expand generation through improvements and the construction of a new hydroelectric dam . The project would bring the maximum output of the facility to 40,000 megawatts (MW). It is feared that these new hydroelectric dams could lead to the extinction of many of the fish species that are native to the river. Equator The equator is a circle of latitude that divides a spheroid , such as Earth , into

300-698: A succession of enormous rapids on the lower course of the Congo River in west equatorial Africa , downstream from Malebo Pool in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Livingstone Falls consist of a series of rapids dropping 900 feet (270 m) in 220 miles (350 km). They start downstream of Malebo Pool and end in Matadi in Bas-Congo . The Congo River has the second largest flow rate in

350-401: Is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS , also has an equatorial radius of 6,378.137 km (3,963.191 mi). For both GRS 80 and WGS 84, this results in a length for the Equator of 40,075.0167 km (24,901.4609 mi). The geographical mile is defined as one arc-minute of the Equator, so it has different values depending on which radius

400-473: Is about 42,000 cubic metres per second. Given this flow rate and the 96 metre fall, it is possible to calculate that the Inga Falls alone has a power potential of approximately 40 GW . In 2014, Inga Falls was the site of two large hydro-electric power plants and is being considered for a much larger hydro-electric power generating station known as Grand Inga. The Grand Inga project, if completed, would be

450-406: Is assumed. For example, by WSG-84, the distance is 1,855.3248 metres (6,087.024 ft), while by IAU-2000, it is 1,855.3257 metres (6,087.027 ft). This is a difference of less than one millimetre (0.039 in) over the total distance (approximately 1.86 kilometres or 1.16 miles). Earth is commonly modeled as a sphere flattened 0.336% along its axis. This makes the Equator 0.16% longer than

500-3888: Is in the Ruwenzori Mountains , at an altitude of around 4,340 m (14,240 ft) above sea level. Distribution of the Congo basin area between countries: The most important hydrological stations along the Congo River are: Brazzaville The Congo River discharge at Kinshasa / Brazzaville stations since the start of measurements (1902 to 2021): 5°08′30.4″S 13°59′27.9″E  /  5.141778°S 13.991083°E  / -5.141778; 13.991083 5°02′57.3″S 13°59′28.2″E  /  5.049250°S 13.991167°E  / -5.049250; 13.991167 5°01′49.5″S 14°01′37.2″E  /  5.030417°S 14.027000°E  / -5.030417; 14.027000 5°2′20.6″S 14°02′09.2″E  /  5.039056°S 14.035889°E  / -5.039056; 14.035889 4°56′50.7″S 14°09′21.2″E  /  4.947417°S 14.155889°E  / -4.947417; 14.155889 4°55′38.5″S 14°15′16.5″E  /  4.927361°S 14.254583°E  / -4.927361; 14.254583 4°54′03.3″S 14°24′18.2″E  /  4.900917°S 14.405056°E  / -4.900917; 14.405056 Brazzaville 4°16′47.3″S 15°18′32.8″E  /  4.279806°S 15.309111°E  / -4.279806; 15.309111 4°05′24.4″S 15°30′39.1″E  /  4.090111°S 15.510861°E  / -4.090111; 15.510861 3°52′43.4″S 15°55′11.6″E  /  3.878722°S 15.919889°E  / -3.878722; 15.919889 3°33′18.7″S 16°05′32.2″E  /  3.555194°S 16.092278°E  / -3.555194; 16.092278 3°28′52.5″S 16°07′18.3″E  /  3.481250°S 16.121750°E  / -3.481250; 16.121750 3°11′23.7″S 16°11′09.6″E  /  3.189917°S 16.186000°E  / -3.189917; 16.186000 3°10′36.4″S 16°11′41.5″E  /  3.176778°S 16.194861°E  / -3.176778; 16.194861 3°09′59.7″S 16°10′51.7″E  /  3.166583°S 16.181028°E  / -3.166583; 16.181028 2°48′33.9″S 16°11′40.1″E  /  2.809417°S 16.194472°E  / -2.809417; 16.194472 2°12′22.9″S 16°10′49.0″E  /  2.206361°S 16.180278°E  / -2.206361; 16.180278 2°09′28.5″S 16°12′16.5″E  /  2.157917°S 16.204583°E  / -2.157917; 16.204583 1°52′15.5″S 16°30′43.4″E  /  1.870972°S 16.512056°E  / -1.870972; 16.512056 1°37′55.5″S 16°37′59.4″E  /  1.632083°S 16.633167°E  / -1.632083; 16.633167 1°14′22.2″S 16°47′44.5″E  /  1.239500°S 16.795694°E  / -1.239500; 16.795694 1°03′13.5″S 17°08′58.0″E  /  1.053750°S 17.149444°E  / -1.053750; 17.149444 0°54′39.2″S 17°23′27.1″E  /  0.910889°S 17.390861°E  / -0.910889; 17.390861 0°43′38.5″S 17°33′02.9″E  /  0.727361°S 17.550806°E  / -0.727361; 17.550806 0°41′00.4″S 17°36′43.7″E  /  0.683444°S 17.612139°E  / -0.683444; 17.612139 0°25′58.1″S 17°50′13.3″E  /  0.432806°S 17.837028°E  / -0.432806; 17.837028 0°01′17.4″N 18°13′10.9″E  /  0.021500°N 18.219694°E  / 0.021500; 18.219694 0°30′22.1″N 25°11′03.4″E  /  0.506139°N 25.184278°E  / 0.506139; 25.184278 The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from

550-464: Is irregular, so the actual length of the Equator is not so easy to determine. Aviation Week and Space Technology on 9 October 1961 reported that measurements using the Transit IV-A satellite had shown the equatorial diameter from longitude 11° West to 169° East to be 1,000 feet (305 m) greater than its diameter ninety degrees away. Download coordinates as: The Equator passes through

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600-565: Is perpendicular to the Earth's rotation axis , which drifts about 9 metres (30 ft) during a year. Geological samples show that the Equator significantly changed positions between 48 and 12 million years ago, as sediment deposited by ocean thermal currents at the Equator shifted. The deposits by thermal currents are determined by the axis of Earth, which determines solar coverage of Earth's surface . Changes in Earth's axis can also be observed in

650-530: Is the preferred English name in 19th-century literature, although references to Zahir or Zaire as the name used by the inhabitants remained common. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo are named after it, as was the previous Republic of the Congo which had gained independence in 1960 from the Belgian Congo . The Republic of Zaire during 1971–1997 was also named after

700-429: Is tilted towards or away from the sun, resulting in either summer or winter in both hemispheres. This also results in a corresponding movement of the equator away from the subsolar point, which is then situated over or near the relevant tropic circle . Nevertheless, temperatures are high year-round due to the Earth's axial tilt of 23.5° not being enough to create a low minimum midday declination to sufficiently weaken

750-686: The Atlantic Ocean and an additional 6% of bedload . The river and its tributaries flow through the Congo rainforest , the second largest rainforest area in the world, after the Amazon rainforest in South America. The river also has the second-largest flow in the world, behind the Amazon ; the second-largest drainage basin of any river, behind the Amazon; and is one of the deepest rivers in

800-566: The Inga dams , about 200 kilometres (120 mi) southwest of Kinshasa. The project was launched in the early 1970s, when the first dam was completed. The plan (as originally conceived) called for the construction of five dams that would have had a total generating capacity of 34,500 megawatts (MW). To date only the Inga I and Inga II dams have been built, generating 1,776 MW. In February 2005, South Africa 's state-owned power company, Eskom , announced

850-519: The Northern and Southern hemispheres . On Earth, the Equator is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude , about 40,075 km (24,901 mi) in circumference, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also be used for any other celestial body that is roughly spherical. In spatial (3D) geometry , as applied in astronomy , the equator of a rotating spheroid (such as

900-578: The Pool Malebo (Stanley Pool). Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) and Brazzaville are on opposite sides of the river at the Pool, where the river narrows and falls through a number of cataracts in deep canyons (collectively known as the Livingstone Falls ), running by Matadi and Boma , and into the sea at Muanda . Lower Congo constitutes the "lower" parts of the great river; that is

950-528: The Tropic of Capricorn ). The equator is the only line of latitude which is also a great circle —meaning, one whose plane passes through the center of the globe. The plane of Earth's equator, when projected outwards to the celestial sphere , defines the celestial equator . In the cycle of Earth's seasons , the equatorial plane runs through the Sun twice a year : on the equinoxes in March and September . To

1000-517: The Uíge Province in Angola to the confluence with the Congo at Zongo some 80 km (50 mi) downstream from the twin capitals. Because of the vast number of rapids, in particular the Livingstone Falls , this section of the river is not operated continuously by riverboats. The Congo basin covers ten countries and accounts for about 13% of Africa . The highest point in the Congo basin

1050-681: The Yellala Falls just above Matadi , are a barrier to navigation on the lower part of the river, the Matadi-Kinshasa Railway was constructed to by-pass them. Inga Falls on Congo River is a group of rapids in the latter portion of the Livingstone Falls, 177 miles (285 km) after the Malebo Pool. The Congo falls about 96 metres within this set of cataracts . The mean annual flow rate at Inga Falls

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1100-404: The upper Congo , Livingstone never travelled to this part of the river and the falls were named in his honour by Henry Morton Stanley . Stanley described the falls as "...the wildest stretch of river that I have ever seen. Take a strip of sea blown over by a hurricane, four miles in length and half a mile in breadth, and a pretty accurate conception of its leaping waves may be obtained. Some of

1150-439: The zenith ) every day, year-round. Consequently, the Equator has a rather stable daytime temperature throughout the year. On the equinoxes (approximately March 20 and September 23) the subsolar point crosses Earth's equator at a shallow angle, sunlight shines perpendicular to Earth's axis of rotation, and all latitudes have nearly a 12-hour day and 12-hour night. The name is derived from medieval Latin word aequator , in

1200-532: The Atlantic Ocean. Opportunities for the Congo River and its tributaries to generate hydropower are therefore enormous. Scientists have calculated that the entire Congo Basin accounts for 13 percent of global hydropower potential. This would provide sufficient power for all of Sub-Saharan Africa 's electricity needs. Currently, there are about 40 hydropower plants in the Congo Basin. The largest are

1250-646: The Congo below Boyoma Falls . The Chambeshi River in Zambia is generally taken as the source of the Congo in line with the accepted practice worldwide of using the longest tributary, as with the Nile River. The Congo flows generally toward the northwest from Kisangani just below the Boyoma Falls, then gradually bends southwestward, passing by Mbandaka , joining with the Ubangi River and running into

1300-565: The Equator. However, its island of Annobón is 155 km (96 mi) south of the Equator, and the rest of the country lies to the north. France , Norway ( Bouvet Island ), and the United Kingdom are the other three Northern Hemisphere -based countries which have territories in the Southern Hemisphere . Seasons result from the tilt of Earth's axis away from a line perpendicular to the plane of its revolution around

1350-697: The IAU 2009 value). This equatorial radius is also in the 2003 and 2010 IERS Conventions. It is also the equatorial radius used for the IERS 2003 ellipsoid. If it were really circular, the length of the equator would then be exactly 2π times the radius, namely 40,075.0142 km (24,901.4594 mi). The GRS 80 (Geodetic Reference System 1980) as approved and adopted by the IUGG at its Canberra, Australia meeting of 1979 has an equatorial radius of 6,378.137 km (3,963.191 mi). The WGS 84 (World Geodetic System 1984) which

1400-505: The Kongo people or Bakongo was introduced in the early 20th century. The name Zaire is from a Portuguese adaptation of a Kikongo word, nzere ("river"), a truncation of nzadi o nzere ("river swallowing rivers"). The river was known as Zaire during the 16th and 17th centuries; Congo seems to have replaced Zaire gradually in English usage during the 18th century, and Congo

1450-513: The Sun's rays even during the solstices. High year-round temperatures extend to about 25° north or south of the equator, although the moderate seasonal temperature difference is defined by the opposing solstices (as it is at higher latitudes) near the poleward limits of this range. Near the equator, there is little temperature change throughout the year, though there may be dramatic differences in rainfall and humidity. The terms summer, autumn, winter and spring do not generally apply. Lowlands around

1500-545: The Sun. Throughout the year, the Northern and Southern hemispheres are alternately turned either toward or away from the Sun, depending on Earth's position in its orbit. The hemisphere turned toward the Sun receives more sunlight and is in summer, while the other hemisphere receives less sun and is in winter (see solstice ). At the equinoxes , Earth's axis is perpendicular to the Sun rather than tilted toward or away, meaning that day and night are both about 12 hours long across

1550-477: The afternoon and 23 °C (73 °F) around sunrise. Rainfall is very high away from cold ocean current upwelling zones, from 2,500 to 3,500 mm (100 to 140 in) per year. There are about 200 rainy days per year and average annual sunshine hours are around 2,000. Despite high year-round sea level temperatures, some higher altitudes such as the Andes and Mount Kilimanjaro have glaciers. The highest point on

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1600-538: The channel width is less than 300 metres and for the majority of the length the channel is less than 800 metres wide. This is an extraordinarily narrow channel since the river flow rate typically exceeds 42,000 cubic metres per second (1,500,000 cu ft/s). Investigations in 2008 and 2009 showed that sections between the rapids may be as deep as 200 m (660 ft). The powerful rapids separate fish populations from one another, causing new species to evolve in close proximity to one another. Although he explored

1650-632: The equator generally have a tropical rainforest climate , also known as an equatorial climate, though cold ocean currents cause some regions to have tropical monsoon climates with a dry season in the middle of the year, and the Somali Current generated by the Asian monsoon due to continental heating via the high Tibetan Plateau causes Greater Somalia to have an arid climate despite its equatorial location. Average annual temperatures in equatorial lowlands are around 31 °C (88 °F) during

1700-473: The equator is at the elevation of 4,690 metres (15,387 ft), at 0°0′0″N 77°59′31″W  /  0.00000°N 77.99194°W  / 0.00000; -77.99194  ( highest point on the equator ) , found on the southern slopes of Volcán Cayambe [summit 5,790 metres (18,996 ft)] in Ecuador . This is slightly above the snow line and is the only place on the equator where snow lies on

1750-572: The fact that sunrise begins (or sunset ends) as the upper limb, not the center, of the Sun's disk contacts the horizon. Earth bulges slightly at the Equator; its average diameter is 12,742 km (7,918 mi), but the diameter at the equator is about 43 km (27 mi) greater than at the poles. Sites near the Equator, such as the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou , French Guiana , are good locations for spaceports as they have

1800-471: The fastest rotational speed of any latitude, 460 m (1,509 ft)/sec. The added velocity reduces the fuel needed to launch spacecraft eastward (in the direction of Earth's rotation) to orbit, while simultaneously avoiding costly maneuvers to flatten inclination during missions such as the Apollo Moon landings . The precise location of the Equator is not truly fixed; the true equatorial plane

1850-706: The geographical layout of volcanic island chains, which are created by shifting hot spots under Earth's crust as the axis and crust move. This is consistent with the Indian tectonic plate colliding with the Eurasian tectonic plate , which is causing the Himalayan uplift. The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) use an equatorial radius of 6,378.1366 km (3,963.1903 mi) (codified as

1900-813: The ground. At the equator, the snow line is around 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) lower than on Mount Everest and as much as 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) lower than the highest snow line in the world, near the Tropic of Capricorn on Llullaillaco . There is a widespread maritime tradition of holding ceremonies to mark a sailor's first crossing of the equator. In the past, these ceremonies have been notorious for their brutality, especially in naval practice. Milder line-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune , are also held for passengers' entertainment on some civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. Livingstone Falls Livingstone Falls ( French : Chutes Livingstone ; Dutch : Livingstonewatervallen ), named for British explorer David Livingstone , are

1950-625: The land of eleven sovereign states . Indonesia is the country straddling the greatest length of the equatorial line across both land and sea. Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the Equator passes through: The Equator also passes through the territorial seas of three countries: Maldives (south of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll ), Kiribati (south of Buariki Island ), and the United States (south of Baker Island ). Despite its name, no part of Equatorial Guinea lies on

2000-543: 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. Middle Congo ( Kinshasa to the Boyoma Falls ) Upper Congo ( Lualaba ; upstream from the Boyoma Falls ) Although the Livingstone Falls prevent access from the sea, nearly the entire Congo above them is readily navigable in sections, especially between Kinshasa and Kisangani. Large river steamers worked

2050-630: The phrase circulus aequator diei et noctis , meaning 'circle equalizing day and night', from the Latin word aequare 'make equal'. The latitude of the Earth's equator is, by definition, 0° (zero degrees ) of arc. The equator is one of the five notable circles of latitude on Earth; the other four are the two polar circles (the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle ) and the two tropical circles (the Tropic of Cancer and

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2100-507: The river until quite recently. The Congo River still is a lifeline in a land with few roads or railways. Railways now bypass the three major falls, and much of the trade of Central Africa passes along the river, including copper , palm oil (as kernels), sugar , coffee , and cotton . The Congo River is the most powerful river in Africa. During the rainy season over 50,000 cubic metres (1,800,000 cu ft) of water per second flows into

2150-558: The river's name in French and Portuguese . The Congo's drainage basin covers 4,014,500 km (1,550,000 sq mi), an area nearly equal to that of the European Union . The Congo's discharge at its mouth ranges from 23,000 to 75,000 m/s (810,000 to 2,650,000 cu ft/s), with an average of 41,000 m/s (1,400,000 cu ft/s). The river transports annually 86 million tonnes of suspended sediment to

2200-551: The river. The kingdom in turn was named after the indigenous Bantu Kongo people , known in the 17th century as "Esikongo". South of the Kingdom of Kongo proper lay the similarly named Kakongo kingdom, mentioned in 1535. Abraham Ortelius labelled "Manicongo" as the city at the mouth of the river in his world map of 1564. The tribal names in Kongo possibly derive from a word for a public gathering or tribal assembly. The modern name of

2250-592: The section of the river from the river mouth at the Atlantic coast to the twin capitals of Brazzaville and Kinshasa. In this section of the river, there are two significant tributaries, both on the left or south side. The Kwilu River originates in the hills near the Angolan border and enters the Congo some 100 km upstream from Matadi . The other is the Inkisi River , that flows in a northerly direction from

2300-459: The troughs were 100 yards in length, and from one to the other the mad river plunged. There was first a rush down into the bottom of an immense trough, and then, by its sheer force, the enormous volume would lift itself upward steeply until, gathering itself into a ridge, it suddenly hurled itself 20 or 30 feet straight upward, before rolling down into another trough. If I looked up or down along this angry scene, every interval of 50 or 100 yards of it

2350-445: The whole of Earth. Near the equator, this means the variation in the strength of solar radiation is different relative to the time of year than it is at higher latitudes: maximum solar radiation is received during the equinoxes, when a place at the equator is under the subsolar point at high noon, and the intermediate seasons of spring and autumn occur at higher latitudes; and the minimum occurs during both solstices, when either pole

2400-405: The world after the Amazon , which has no falls or rapids (except near its sources). The lowest rapids of Livingstone Falls, therefore, are the world's largest waterfall in terms of flow rate — provided one accepts these rapids as being a waterfall. An interesting aspect of the 220-mile-long (350 km) Livingstone Falls is the width of the channel. The channel is very narrow: in several stretches

2450-558: The world, at depths greater than 220 m (720 ft). Because its drainage basin includes areas both north and south of the Equator , its flow is stable, as there is always at least one part of the river experiencing a rainy season . The sources of the Congo are in the highlands and mountains of the East African Rift , as well as Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru , which feed the Lualaba River , which then becomes

2500-418: Was marked by wave-towers - their collapse into foam and spray, the mad clash of watery hills, bounding mounds and heaving billows, while the base of either bank, consisting of a long line of piled boulders of massive size, was buried in the tempestuous surf. The roar was tremendous and deafening. I can only compare it to the thunder of an express train through a rock tunnel." Since the falls, which start with

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