The Congo River

The Congo river is also known as the Zaire river.It is 4700 km long, making it the second longest river in Africa and the eight longest river in the world. Its basin is the democratic republic of the Congo and it flows through republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Rwanda, Burindi and the African Republic. The mouth of the Congo river is the Atlantic Ocean, and its source is the junction of Lualaba and the rivers of Lualaba.

Every year the Congo river gets up 90 inches of rainfall. It also has withins its banks, thousands of islands and thirty waterfalls. The river flows mostly near the Equator and because of these the area around it is very hot. Most of the surrounding land is tropical rain forest, except for some of the land which is full of long grass. Many people live along the river and they also fish in it. The river is also used as a means of transport for people and goods, such as barges carrying fuel, wood, or crops up or down the river. Many people use the river as irrigation so they can water their tobacco, peanut, cotton or sugarcane crops.

The Congo river is home to many animals such as tortoises, manatees, crocodiles, hippos, giraffes, elephants, zebras, water snakes, pigs and many diferent types of fish.

www.congo-pages.org

The Yangtze River

www.e-picworld.com


The river Yangtze is located in China. It is 6380km long making it the third longest river in the world and the longest river in Asia. The source of the Yangtze river is in Qinghai Province and its mouth is in the East China Sea which is near Shangai. . Its basin area is 1,800,000 km squared. The river Yangtze is traditionally believed to be the dividing line between North and South China, but many geographers believe that Qinling-Huai river is the real divider.

The Three Gorges Dam is a dam on the river and it is the largest hydro-electric power sation in the world. Many people are no longer be affected by flooding because of this dam and they are also provided with water transport and electricity. The river Yangtze is also beneficial to Chinas economy, as tourists take river cruises on the river, and bulk goods such as coal as well as manufactured goods are transported. Floods along the river have been a major problem. The three biggest floods were in 1911 100,00 people were killed, in 1931 145,00 people were killed and in 1935 142,000 people were killed.

There are many animals in the river Yangtze some of these are the white stork, the soft shelled turtle, the leopard, the baiji dolphin, the salamander and the chinese pangolin.

http://video.google.com


This is a video of the Yangtze river

The Niger River

For five nations of west Africa the river Niger is a source of food, water and drainage. Also more than 20 African tribes rely on it. It is the third longest river in Africa and the thirteenth longest river in the world. The river Niger is 4180km long. Its drainage basin is 2,117,700km squared in area. The river Niger runs through Niger, Mali, Nigeria and Benin. The Benue river is its main tributary. The river Nigers source is in Guinea highlands in southeastern Guinea.

The Niger Inland Delta is an unusual feature of the river Niger as it forms whre its gradient suddenly decreases. A region of marshes, braided streams and lakes are formed because of this. The floods make the Delta extremely productive for fishing and agriculture. Heavy rainfall in the highlands of Guinea feed the Niger. The heavy rainfall floods the flatlands of Mali. During the flood season many fish enter the marshes to spawn. Fish are very easy to catch as the water recedes and they are left in shallow waters. The river Niger is also a source of oil and because of it Nigeria is in the worlds top ten producers of petroleum. Also the raffia palm grows in this region and this provides material for making brooms, building houses and making mats.

There are many different types of animals living in the river Niger some of these are hippopotami, crocodiles, manatees and black-crowned cranes.






http://www.palinstravels.co.uk

Cluster Map