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Geography and Environment of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Terrain, climate, natural resources, hazards, and environmental conditions of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Speed
Overview
Although the country’s capital, Kinshasa, is only four degrees south of the equator, temperatures are generally moderate. In January, the average daily high is 100 ºF and the low is 80 ºF. In July, the range is from 95 ºF to 75 ºF. The rainy season for Kinshasa and for the two-thirds of the country below the equator lasts from October to May. Despite its dreary sound, the rainy season is not unpleasant. Except for perhaps one rainstorm every few days, lasting anywhere from one to two hours, the skies are usually blue and sunny. In contrast, the dry season, though not yielding any rain, is characterized by overcast and cooler days.
Detailed geography
Physical Features
- Terrain
- vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
- Climate
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo straddles the equator in the heart of central Africa and shares a border with nine other countries: the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Angola. Congo has access to the Atlantic Ocean on the west through a strip of territory that narrows to 13 miles wide at the coast. Its area includes the greater part of the Congo River Basin and covers 1,465,553 square miles. The Congo River is 2,900 miles long and is the second largest in the world in terms of area drained, flow, and navigable length. With its tributaries, the river provides Congo with about 9,000 miles of navigable waterways, and its force affords Congo 13% of the world’s hydroelectric power potential. With the country’s abundance of natural resources—which include copper, cobalt, zinc, industrial—and gem-quality diamonds, manganese, tin, crude oil, and gold—Congo is potentially one of the richest countries in the world. The geographical features of this giant African nation are handsome and varied. The huge Congo Basin, a low-lying, bowl-shaped plateau sloping toward the west, is covered by lush, tropical rain forests. Surrounding the basin are mountainous terraces on the west, plateaus merging into savannas to the south and southeast, and dense grasslands toward the northwest. The high picturesque Ruwenzori Mountains bound the basin to the east.
- Weather Patterns
- http://voap.weather.com/weather/oap/CGXX0005?template=TRVLH&par=1003114983&unit=0&key=5b85ae1d85877a1b34827fba743e2133
- Highest Point
- 5110 — Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley)
- Lowest Point
- Atlantic Ocean
Borders and Area
- Area (Comparative)
- slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
- Border Countries
- Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Natural Resources and Hazards
- Natural Resources
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the most resource-rich nations on Earth, possessing an extraordinary wealth of minerals, forests, waterways, and agricultural land that place it among the world's most strategically important countries in terms of natural endowments. The country holds some of the largest known reserves of coltan (columbite-tantalite), a mineral essential to the production of capacitors used in smartphones, laptops, and other electronic devices. The DRC accounts for a significant share of global coltan production. It also contains vast deposits of cobalt — with estimates suggesting the country holds over 50 percent of the world's known cobalt reserves — a metal critical to the manufacturing of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and consumer electronics. Beyond cobalt and coltan, the DRC is rich in copper, cassiterite (tin ore), gold, diamonds, zinc, manganese, uranium, and coal. The Katanga region in the south is particularly noted for its copper and cobalt output, while diamond mining is active across several provinces. The country's total mineral wealth has been estimated in the tens of trillions of US dollars, though much of it remains underexploited due to infrastructure challenges and ongoing instability in certain regions. The DRC also possesses the Congo River, the second longest river in Africa and the deepest river in the world. It represents an enormous potential source of hydroelectric power. The Grand Inga Dam project, if fully realized, could generate up to 40,000 megawatts of electricity — making it potentially the largest hydroelectric installation in the world. Currently, only a fraction of this capacity is developed. Approximately 60 percent of the country's land area is covered by tropical rainforest, representing the second-largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon. These forests are home to exceptional biodiversity and serve as a major global carbon sink. Timber is harvested commercially, though deforestation remains a significant environmental concern. Agricultural land is also plentiful, with fertile soils capable of supporting crops including cassava, maize, palm oil, coffee, and rubber. Despite this abundance, the DRC continues to face challenges in translating its natural wealth into broad economic development for its population.
- Natural Hazards
- periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Environment and Land Use
- Current Environmental Issues
- poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage
- International Agreements
- Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands Signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification