CONGO RIVER

SECTION:A

• The Congo River is located in the heart of Africa
• The Congo is 2,900 miles long and is the 2nd biggest river in Africa (behind the Nile)
• Starts in Democratic Republic of the Congo and drains into the Atlantic Ocean
• The Congo can drain 1.2 million cubic feet of water a second
• The river can range from .5 to 10 miles wide

SECTION:B

• Barges use the Congo River's 8,700 miles of navigational waterways and over 650 miles is used all year
• Most of the Native tribes live on the banks of the river and use it to help provide food
• There are many hydro powered plants on the Congo that provide electricity to many cities near the Congo
• The Congo Basin exports many minerals including oil, iron, copper, uranium, diamonds and gold.

SECTION:C

• People think the hydro electric dam redirects and ruins the river
• Pollution from urban cities by the river has caused a a threat to the Congo's ecosystem
• Pollution mostly comes from the boats fuel and debris falling out of the boats
• Logging operations cause soil erosion and increases the amount of sediment
• Sediment can effect fishes gil system which would kill the fish

SECTION:D

• 1.5-2 million years ago ancient Kongo Kingdom gave the the Congo/Zaire river its name
• More than 700 different species of fish live in the river
• The Congo river is the 9th largest river in the world
• Before the river became the Congo river it was called the Zaire river
• There are more than 4,000 islands on the river that are all at least 50 miles long

SOURCES

• Britannica elementary,high and middle school
• Congoriver1.blogspot.com
• Interesting-Africa-facts.com,
• Library.thinkquest.com