B/c caves do not exist everywhere...............and in a desert........like the Sahara..........it is inhospitable to human life............but in a forest............with plenty to hunt, fish..............to pick...........berries, fruits.........nuts, etc..............and b/c it is a forest.........u build a hut or a house...........

© WWF

Where are we?

The Congo River Basin covers a massive area concentrated in a narrow band of land that straddles the equator. The basin is drained by theCongo River and covers approximately 3.7 million km², slightly more than the size of India and France put together.

A massive forest expanse of 1.5 million km² covers the area, spreading across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), most of Congo-Brazzaville, the southeastern reaches of Cameroon, southern Central African Republic (CAR), Gabon and Equatorial Guinea - extending well beyond the actual limits of the Congo River Basin. 

A panorama of the region

The forests of the Congo River Basin stretch from the Ruwenzori Range, on the flanks of the Albertine Rift in eastern DRC, to the Atlantic coast of the Gulf of Guinea.

The Ruwenzoris reach 3,000 m and the highest points are permanently snow-capped. Smaller mountain ranges are found around the Gulf of Guinea, such as the Monts de Alen and Monts de Cristal.

The second largest river in the world in terms of the amount of water it carries, the Congo River drains the basin as it cuts across the region. At the eastern side of the Congo River Basin there are swamps and lakes that play an important role in regulating the flow of the river.

A varied climate depending on latitude and altitude

The northern forests have a hot, severe dry season, which increases in intensity as one moves away from the equator. The forests of the western parts of the region have a much cooler dry season, with coastal areas subject to tropical monsoon climate conditions, especially in the Gulf of Guinea.

Rainfall and temperature patterns in Central Africa vary considerably, with unpredictable seasonal variations.¹ Some of the heaviest rains in the world are experienced at the foot of Mount Cameroon, around 10,000 mm annually.

The central part of the Congo River Basin and the foothills of the mountain range that borders the Albertine Rift also receive a lot of rainfall (2,000 – 3,000 mm per year), while the rest of the dense forest gets relatively little (1,500 mm - 1,800 m per year).