10 interesting facts about rivers in Africa

According to many competent scientists, Africa is an ancient continent, the homeland of all humanity. Many of its corners have not yet been explored due to their inaccessibility and harsh climate, and very dangerous wildlife. But the opinion of Africa as one continuous desert is deceptive – rivers literally pierce this continent, and about a third of its entire surface is a drainage basin for them.

10 Interesting facts about the rivers of Africa

1. Congo is the most full-flowing river

The Congo is the most full-flowing river on the continent and the second-longest after the Nile, which is often called the cradle of civilizations – it was on its banks that many peoples originated and developed.

2. 59 large river

In total, 59 large rivers and many small rivers flow through Africa, some of which dry up in the dry season.

3. Blue and White Nile

The Blue Nile got its name from the amazingly clear water and the White Nile, on the contrary, due to the fact that the water in it is significantly cloudy with silt.

4. Longest is the River Nile

The longest river in Africa, as mentioned above, is the Nile. More recently, the Nile was also considered the longest river in the world, but recent studies have shown that the Amazon River is slightly longer than the Nile.

5. Name Orange river

The Orange River flowing through Africa, which is very popular among lovers of rafting down the rivers on boats, got its name, not because of its orange color, which it cannot boast of, but from the Dutch kings of Orange’s family after which it was named.

6. Tigerfish

In the African Congo River waters, there is a tiger fish, or goliath fish, which is deservedly considered a real monster. Locals claim that large specimens of this fish pose a serious danger to swimmers.

7. Many rivers have no full details

Many African rivers were finally mapped not so long ago, a hundred or one hundred and fifty years ago. Moreover, many of them have not yet been studied.

8. Waterfalls

The rivers of Africa are teeming with waterfalls due to the stepped nature of the continental plate itself.

9. Flow via desert

The only river flowing through the Sahara Desert is the aforementioned.

10. Second-largest lake water

The largest lake in Africa, Tanganyika, belongs to the basin of the Congo River, which is also the second-largest freshwater lake in the world in size and volume. The first is Baikal.