ABSTRACT
Measuring at 500 million acres, the Congo Basin is larger than France and is the world’s second largest tropical rainforest. It surrounds the equator, and the massive water source makes the perfect recipe for the rainforest to grow abundantly. The Congo River runs from Eastern Africa through the Congo Rainforest and flows all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the world’s deepest river at 720 feet and is the world’s second longest, after the River Nile. The rainforest is home to an array of species, including gorillas, buffalo, elephants, chimpanzees, bonobos, okapi and the Congo peafowl. The Congo Basin is the only place to shelter all three subspecies of gorilla: the lowland gorilla, the Eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla. Due to the dangers being posed to the forest, the Dzanga-Sangha special reserve was created in 1990 to protect certain areas of Central Africa, including the Congo Basin.
