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Landform

The Congo Basin

Also Known As Congo River Basin
River Basins and Drainage Basins

The Congo Basin is the drainage basin of the Congo River, spanning roughly 3.7 million square kilometers across nine central African countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Angola and Zambia. Structurally it sits atop the ancient Congo Craton, a stable continental block that has subsided gradually over hundreds of millions of years and filled with sediment, producing the broad, shallow bowl shape the basin holds today. Much of the basin is covered by the Congo Basin rainforest, the second largest contiguous tropical rainforest in the world after the Amazon, and its interior wetlands and swamp forest, often called the Cuvette Centrale, hold peatlands now understood to be among the largest tropical carbon stores on Earth.

Facts
Area (sq km)
3,730,000 1
Latitude
0 degrees 2
Longitude
22 degrees east 2
Connections

Associated With

Angola, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
Burundi, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
Cameroon, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
Central Africa, Regions

The Congo Basin and its rainforest are the region's defining ecological feature.

Source Central Africa (Wikipedia)
Central African Republic, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Countries
Source Democratic Republic of the Congo (Wikipedia)
Gabon, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
Republic of the Congo, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
Rwanda, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
Tanzania, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
The Congo River, Bodies of Water
Zambia, Countries
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)

Demonstrates

Deposition and Sedimentation, Physical Processes

An active tropical river basin currently depositing sediment across its floodplain.

Source United States Geological Survey
Water Cycle, Physical Processes
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)

Shaped By

Deposition and Sedimentation, Physical Processes
Source Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Is Discussed By

Congo Basin Rainforest

Also in Nature Atlas: which discusses this subject.

Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source
2. Congo Basin (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Infobox coordinates
    0°00′00″N 22°00′00″E / 0.0000°N 22.0000°E / 0.0000; 22.0000
  • Shaped By: Deposition and Sedimentation, Lead section
    The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River.
  • Demonstrates: Water Cycle, Climate section
    The Congo Basin is a globally important climatic region with annual rainfall of between 1,500 to 2,000 millimetres (59 to 79 in).
  • Associated With: Angola, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
  • Associated With: Gabon, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
  • Associated With: Burundi, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
  • Associated With: Cameroon, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
  • Associated With: Central African Republic, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
  • Associated With: Republic of the Congo, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
  • Associated With: Rwanda, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
  • Associated With: Tanzania, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
  • Associated With: Zambia, Description section, countries list
    Countries wholly or partially in the Congo region: Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia.
View the Source
Central Africa (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationGeography section, Congo Basin associated-with edge
Quote, Geography section, Congo Basin associated-with edge
The Congo River basin has historically been ecologically significant to the populations of Central Africa.
View the Source
Wikidata: The Congo Basin
Wikidata Q932289, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
United States Geological Survey
United States Geological SurveyDemonstrates: Deposition and SedimentationView the Source
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Democratic Republic of the CongoView the Source
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