Geography in Zaire

From Roach Busters

Location: Central Africa, northeast of Angola

Geographic coordinates: 0°00′N 25°00′E

Map references: Africa

Area:

total: 2,345,410 km²

land: 2,267,600 km²

water: 77,810 km²

Area - comparative: slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US

Land boundaries:

total: 10,744 km

border countries: Angola 2,511 km, Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 473 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km

Coastline: 37 km

Maritime claims:

exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors

territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October

Terrain: vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m

Natural resources: cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber

Land use:

arable land: 2.96% (1998 est), 3% (1993 est.)

permanent crops: 0.52% (1998 est.), 0% (1993 est.)

permanent pastures: 7% (1993 est.)

forests and woodland: 77% (1993 est.)

other: 96.52 (1998 est.), 13% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 110 km² (1998 est.), 100 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes

Environment - current 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

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Geography - note: straddles Equator; very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands