The Congo River, formerly known as the Zaire River during the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge volume, following only the Amazon. It is also the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths in excess of 220 m (720 ft). The Congo-Lualaba-Chambeshi River system has an overall length of 4,700 km (2,920 mi), which makes it the world's ninth-longest river. The Chambeshi is a tributary of the Lualaba River, and Lualaba is the name of the Congo River upstream of Boyoma Falls, extending for 1,800 km (1,120 mi).
The White Nile is a river in Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile; the other is the Blue Nile. The name comes from colouring due to clay carried in the water.
The Ubangi River, also spelled Oubangui, is the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River in the region of Central Africa. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou and Uele Rivers and flows west, forming the border between Central African Republic (CAR) and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Subsequently, the Ubangi bends to the southwest and passes through Bangui, the capital of the CAR, after which it flows south – forming the border between Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of Congo. The Ubangi finally joins the Congo River at Liranga.
The Ogooué, some 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) long, is the principal river of Gabon in west central Africa and the fourth largest river in Africa by volume of discharge, trailing only the Congo, Niger and Zambezi. Its watershed drains nearly the entire country of Gabon, with some tributaries reaching into the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea.
The Aruwimi River is a tributary of the Congo River, located to the north and east of the Congo.
The Lualaba River flows entirely within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the greatest river source (headstream) of the Congo River by volume of water. The Lualaba is 1,800 kilometres (1,100 mi) long. Its headwaters are in the country's far southeastern corner near Musofi and Lubumbashi in Katanga Province, next to Zambia. The Chambeshi River is the longest river source (headstream) of the Congo.
Bandundu is one of eleven former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It bordered the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provincial capital is also called Bandundu.
The Uele River, also spelled Welle River, is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Uele forms at Dungu, at the confluence of the Dungu and Kibali rivers, which both originates in the mountains near Lake Albert. Combined these rivers flows west for about 1,210 kilometres (750 mi), until the Uele joins the Mbomou River at Yakoma.
The Sangha River, a tributary of the Congo River, is located in Central Africa.
The Kasai River is a tributary of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where it turns north and serves as the border until it flows into the DRC. From Ilebo, between the confluences with Lulua river and Sankuru river, the Kasai river turns to a westerly direction. The lower stretch of the river from the confluence with Fimi river, is known as the Kwa(h) River, before it joins the Congo at Kwamouth northeast of Kinshasa. The Kasai basin consists mainly of equatorial rainforest areas, which provide an agricultural land in a region noted for its infertile, sandy soil. It is a tributary of Congo river and diamonds are found in this river. Around 60% of diamonds in Belgium go from Kasai river for cutting and shaping.
The Fimi River is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It flows from Lake Mai-Ndombe to the Kasai River, which in turn empties into the Congo. One of the Fimi's tributaries is the Lukenie River, which is navigable by barges as far as Kole.
The Ivindo River is the most important tributary of the Ogooué River, which flows in Gabon.
A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea. Most major blackwater rivers are in the Amazon Basin and the Southern United States. The term is used in fluvial studies, geology, geography, ecology, and biology. Not all dark rivers are blackwater in that technical sense. Some rivers in temperate regions, which drain or flow through areas of dark black loam, are simply black due to the color of the soil; these rivers are black mud rivers. There are also black mud estuaries.
The Lomami River is a major tributary of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The river is approximately 1,280 kilometres (800 mi) long. It flows north, west of and parallel to the upper Congo.
The Ruzizi is a river, 117 kilometres (73 mi) long, that flows from Lake Kivu to Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa, descending from about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) to about 770 metres (2,530 ft) above sea level over its length. The steepest gradients occur over the first 40 kilometres (25 mi), where hydroelectric dams have been built. Further downstream, the Ruzizi Plain, the floor of the Western Rift Valley, has only gentle hills, and the river flows into Lake Tanganyika through a delta, with one or two small channels splitting off from the main channel.
The Kabompo River is one of the main tributaries of the upper Zambezi River. It flows entirely in Zambia, rising to the east of the source of the Zambezi, in North-Western Province along the watershed between the Zambezi and Congo river basins which also forms the border between Zambia and DR Congo.
The Sanaga River is a river of East Region, Centre Region and Littoral Region of Cameroon. Its length is about 600 kilometres (370 mi).
The Jur River is a river in western South Sudan, flowing through the Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria regions. About 485 kilometres (301 mi) long, it flows north and northeast, joining the Bahr el Ghazal River on the western side of the Sudd wetlands. The Jur River is part of the Nile basin, as the Bahr al-Ghazal flows into the White Nile.
The Cuango or Kwango is a transboundary river of Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the largest left bank tributary of the Kasai River in the Congo River basin. It flows through Malanje town in Angola. The Kwango River basin has large resources of diamonds in the Chitamba-Lulo Kimberlite Cluster in Lunda Norte Province, discovered in the main river channel and on flats and terraces in its flood plains.
The Tshuapa or Ruka River is a river in DR Congo, a tributary to the great Congo River, about 1000 km long. The middle Tshuapa is navigable and about 150 m across. It flows northwest from Katako-Kombe town to XX cataracts, then west to Mbandaka, where it merges with the Congo.
