10 Interesting Facts about the Congo Rainforest

These are the following facts about the Congo Rainforest which probably give you information about it. In this article, we will talk about the interesting facts related to the Congo Rainforest. The Congo Rainforest is located in Central Africa. One of the longest rivers in the world, the Congo River, belongs to this rainforest. Joseph Conrad wrote about it in his book called The Heart of Darkness. To know more facts about this rainforest check the list below.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 1: The Common Knowledge of Rainforest

Rainforest is defined as a type of forest which has high rainfall. The rainfall is between 250 and 450 cm (98 and 177 in) annually.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 2: The Name

The Congo Rainforest is also known as the Congo Basin Rainforest. Basin itself is defined as the area of land from which streams run into a river.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 3: Contains One of the Longest Rivers in the World

The Congo River which is known as the Zaire River is the ninth longest river in the world. It has an overall length of 4,700 km (2,920 mi).

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 4: It has Many Unique Animals

There are many unique and interesting animals live in the Congo Basin Rainforest such as pygmy chimpanzee, hippopotamus and okapi. The Congo basin is the only place that you can find the pygmy chimpanzee. While okapi, it is a very interesting species; it is like a zebra and a giraffe.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 5: The Plants

The Congo Rainforest has 70% plant cover of Africa which is make it contains a large portion of biodiversity of Africa. It has more than 600 tree species.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 6: The Hippopotamus Meat

One of the animals live in the Congo Rainforest is hippopotamus, it can be found in the river of the forest. Uniquely, the meat of hippopotamus is one of the favorite foods of the people of the Congo. Although killing hippopotamus is not allowed by law, they still kill some of hippopotamus to eat their meat.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 7: The Climate

The Congo Rainforest is very rainy. The average rainfall is around 147 cm a year. It has warm and wet climate with an average temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 8: The Exploration

Chinese, Portuguese and Belgian are some of the nations which have been explored the Congo Rainforest and the Congo River for different purposes.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 9: The Kingdoms who Rules

Lots of important kingdoms in the Congo were ruled the area, one of them is Kongo Empire. It was a group of small states ruled by a king which is located near the mouth of the Congo River. The name of the river itself was given by this nation.

Facts about the Congo Rainforest 10: Henry Stanley

Henry Stanley is a reporter who has a duty to find Dr. David Livingstone. Dr. David Livingstone is one of the most famous missionary/explorers in history who had lost into the jungle. In his journey, Stanley became the first man known to have followed the Congo River across Africa to its mouth.

Those are the facts about the Congo Rainforest. Hopefully those interesting facts will enrich your knowledge about the Congo Rainforest