Deepest River

Our fascination for adjectives ending with the suffix - est is far underrated. Our eagerness to find out more about some fascinating attributes of the nature such as the tallest mountain in the world (Mt. Everest), fastest animal on Earth (Peregrine Falcon), deepest part of the ocean (Mariana Trench) and so on speaks volumes about our quest for knowledge. While scores of people out there know that the Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the ocean, with its depth exceeding 11 km, not many people can boast of knowing which is the deepest river or the deepest lake in the world.

Deepest River in the World: Congo River

Going by the list of rivers of the world in terms of average discharge the Congo River ranks 2nd, with an average discharge of 41,800 cubic meters per second. This feat that the Congo River pulls off with amazing ease can be attributed to its great depths. River Congo, with its depth exceeding 750 ft at some points along its course, is the deepest river in the world. Its depth exceeds that of the Pocomoke River which happens to be the deepest river in the United States.

Origin and Flow of R. Congo

The Congo River, also known as the Zaire River, derives its name from the fact that it flows through the Congo rainforest of Africa. This river originates in the highlands and mountains of the East African Rift, and flows for a distance of 2,920 miles before emptying itself into the Atlantic Ocean on the western coast of Africa. In its course, this river flows through nine African nations - namely Zambia, Angola, Rwanda, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Tanzania. Throughout its course, the river supports a great deal of biodiversity in the Congo rain forests as well as the grasslands of Africa.

More Interesting Facts

Being the 5th largest river in the world, and 2nd largest river in Africa, the Congo River has a crucial role to play when it comes to the African ecosystem. The drainage basin of this river spans across 1,550,000 sq miles in the heart of the African continent. Its main tributaries include Inkisi, Kwa, Sangha, Ubangi etc. As this river flows through the equatorial region, one can notice that the water of this river is mostly warm. Interestingly, at least one part of this river receives rainfall at any given point of time of the year.

A look at the geography of different water bodies on the planet reveals some interesting facts about them. For instance, Africa is also home to the longest river in the world - River Nile, with a length of 4,132 miles. Similarly, South America's River Amazon is the largest river in the world with a drainage area of 4,296,781.79 sq miles and an average discharge of 219,000 cubic meters per second. The list of astonishing facts about our planet is quite lengthy, and the deepest river on the planet is just an attribute of this lengthy list.