Zaire

Had in the middle the African continent Zaire (till 1960 - the Belgian Congo - the largest on the square (2,3  million sq. km) the country of Africa. 9/10 its terrains are in a drainage basin of Congo (here it name, as well as the country, Zaire). In the extreme West Zaire has an exit to Atlantic ocean on very short section of coast between Angola and Êîíãî1. The equator recuts the country on an extent 1300  km. An official language - French.

the Surface of Zaire reminds the huge dish slightly inclined to Atlantic ocean: in the middle (the lowest part of terrain) there is a dint of Congo, and along the edges - the closed ring of elevations. The dint end plate represents the boggy plain formed by the river Congo and its inflows, and is bordered by an amphitheatre of terraces and a plateau in altitude from 500 to 1000  the m. In the southwest a dint are abjointed from ocean by the South Guinean elevation. In the south of a dint, at an interstream of the rivers Congos and Zambezi, is even more altitude - 1200-1500  m. In the southeast are lifted ploskoverhie blocks of mounts Mitumba, plateau Manika and Kundegungu. East part of the country - suburb of the East African plateau - is most ennobled. Here from the north on the south the giant arch drew through system of deep dints of the East African region of fractures in which the chain of Great African loches is had: Mobutu-Sese-Seko, Edward, Kivu, Tanganyika, Mweru. Surrounding dints hills rise to 2-3  thousand and  the m, especially deposits the block of Ruwenzori topped with snow with the third on altitude an apex of Africa - peak Margerita (5109 ). Between Edward's loches and Kivu block Virunga with high seismicity is had: it switches on more 100  burning mountains. Highest of them - Karisimbi (4507 ), has already gone out, but burning mountains Niragongo (3450 ) and Njamlagira were repeatedly thrown up for last century (one of the most powerful eruptions has descended in 1977).

In Zaire - the most dense in Africa a river network. The rivers fed by rains and underground sources, are abounding in water, abound with thresholds and cataracts. The greatest and known cataracts -   a picturesque many-stage cataract the Ladder of Venus on the river Isahe (the Overhead Zaire), Guillaume's cataracts on three sleeves of the river Kwango, 340-metre cataract Kaloba on the river Lovoi, Stanley's seven-ladder-shaped cataracts (an upper course of Congo), and also the cascade from 70  cataracts of Livingstone in lower reaches of Congo near to ocean. Many rivers in upper courses leak in narrow gorges among rocks in altitude to 400  m, forming rough currents (for example, Port-d'anfer - Infernal gate - in upper courses of Congo near the city of Kongolo), but on the average and the inferior flow are quieter and are navigable.

The Climate of Zaire mainly equatorial constantly wet, in a southern half and on northern suburb - subequatorial. Average temperatures of air - 25-28  °C, but daily differences attain 10-15  °C. Deposits in equatorial region falls out 1700-2200  mm go to year, especially strong rains from March till May and from September till November. Equatorial showers these months are strong, but are short-term (usually - in the second half of day). Further from equator (to the south and the north) the dry seasons are more obviously expressed: in the north from March till November, in the south - from October-November till March-April. It is less than deposits - to 1200  mm. In mounts is more cool, and deposits falls out more - to 2500  mm.

More than half of terrain of Zaire it is covered by evergreen wet tropical woods in which grows nearby 50 especially fine woods of arbours and hundred others. In process of removal from wood equator become razrezhennee and grow mainly on valleys of the rivers. Sometimes krones of arbours are closed over a rather narrow river channel, forming a green tunnel or portico from what there is their name - gallery forests. In the south and the extreme north tall-grass savannahs with seldom growing arbours (so-called park savannah) predominate. In mounts at low altitudes vegetation same as on plains, but in woods there are conifers (podokarpusy, junipers) and tree ferns; at altitude 3000-3500  m predominate a bamboo and tree heath tangle, and high-mountainous pratums above begin.

The fauna of Zaire is exclusively diverse: equatorial woods of the central hollow are occupied by lemurs and monkeys, small antelopes, borodavochnikami, okapi (related to giraffes kopytnoe, but with shorter neck and okrasom a back part of a body reminding the zebra). In one of national parks - Kahuzi-Biegu - it is possible to observe mountain gorillas. The savannah is stocked with antelopes, gazeljami, giraffes, elephants, rhinoceroses (including there is also a rare white rhinoceros), lions, leopards, hyenas. It is a lot of lizards, turtles and snakes (many of them as, for example, black and green mamby, are very toxicant). From auks on open spaces there are ostriches, drofy, pearl hens, and in woods - peafowls, parrots, hoopoes, peckers. The rivers and loches abound with fish - numbers to thousand their aspects. Almost 15  terrain % occupy reservations and national parks most known from which - Virunga, Upemba, Garamba, Northern Salonga and Southern Salonga.

On a population (nearby 42,5  million persons) Zaire is included into number of five most occupied African countries, but allocation of inhabitants on terrain non-uniform: woods practically are not invaded, and population density east priozerja a hundred times above. The ethnic composition of the population is very combined: at Zaire bunk more 200  the people and small ethnic obshchnostej. Their big part refers to to language bunch to a bow (bakombo, bapende, bajaka and others). To a bow - mainly agricultural people, large horned stock breed only in east, free regions from a tse-tse fly. To a bow - the skilful handicraftsmen who are famous for metal wares, woodcarving (people figurines bakuba, masks bapende), the encrusted musical instruments etc. In the north of the country bunk azande and other people of adamaua-east subgroup which also in many respects have saved traditional crop and known earthenware art, manufacturing of throwing knifes pinga, building fortifikatsionnyh structures. Bunch of the people following on quantity - niloty, living on boundary line with Uganda and Sudan, are occupied mainly by cattle breeding. In equatorial woods there live nations of pygmies.

Country Capital - Kinshasa (nearby 3,8  million inhabitants) - the economic centre of Zaire, the largest transport site. The downtown has quite European shape. Against modern buildings the cathedral church of St. Anna builted in 1919 in neogothic style and surrounded with park with a complex of buildings of the same style deposits. The perfect aspect on a city and its neighbourhoods is discovered from mount Ngaliema. In a city it is a lot of hotels, most original of which Okapi, consisting of the one-storeyed small houses bridged by covered porticoes. The main port of Zaire - Matadi - is had on the rocky I protect the rivers Congos. The City-port of Boma was capital of medieval empire Songo. The city of Likasi had in a valley where there are some scientific institutes and a mineralogical museum is picturesque. One of the oldest cities - Kisangani based by G.Stenli in 1883. Other large cities - Ngungu, Lubumbashi, Kolvezi, Kananga, Mbuji-Mayi, Bukavu, Mbandaka, bandundu.