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A Sapele tree in the Republic of the Congo. The Congolian rainforest is the world's second-largest tropical forest, after the Amazon rainforest.It covers over 500,000,000 acres (2,000,000 km 2) across six countries and contains a quarter of the world's remaining tropical forest.
It contains some of the largest tropical rainforests in the world and is an important source of water used in agriculture and energy generation. [1] The rainforest in the Congo Basin is the largest rainforest in Africa and second only to the Amazon rainforest in size, with 300 million hectares compared to the 800 million hectares in the Amazon. [2]
The Congo River, [a] formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume, following the Amazon and Ganges rivers. It is the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths of around 220 m (720 ft). [10]
Democratic Republic of the Congo map of Köppen climate classification zones. Climate ranges from tropical rain forest in the Congo River basin to tropical wet-and-dry in the southern uplands to tropical highland in eastern areas above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in elevation. [1] In general, temperatures and humidity are quite high. [1]
The ecoregion is a mosaic of forest, savanna, and grassland. Semi-evergreen rainforest is found along the rivers that drain northwards into the Congo Basin, with open woodland, savanna, and grassland in the uplands. Rainforest flora is typically Guineo-Congolian species, while the woodland, savanna, and grassland species are mostly Zambezian. [3]
The Republic of the Congo covers an area of 342,000 km², of which 341,500 km² is land while 500 km² is water. Congo claims 200 nautical miles (370 km) of territorial sea. The capital of the Republic of the Congo is Brazzaville, located on the Congo River immediately across from Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Located in the center of the Congo Basin, Salonga National Park protects the largest rainforest in Africa and the second largest in the world. [8] The large size and ecological complexity of this rainforest has allowed species and communities to evolve relatively undisturbed.
This park, along with the other two reserved parks within the larger Sangha Reserve, is secluded from all economic activity involving roads and human interference, which has resulted in its maintenance as a pristine rainforest. [12] [7] [14] The park lies within the forest area of Congo which forms 11% of the total area of the country.