Tazama chanzo cha Kongo (mto)

[[Picha: Aerial_view_of_the_Congo_River_near_Kisangani.jpg|thumb|Mto Kongo ni mto wa pili kwa ukubwa barani Afrika baada ya Nile.]]
{{mto
| jina                =  Mto wa Kongo
| picha               = River Congo.svg
| maelezo_ya_picha    =  Beseni ya mto Kongo
| chanzo              =  Katika milima ya Mitumba takr. 100 km magharibi ya Lumbumbashi ([[Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo]])
| mdomo               =  [[Atlantiki]]
| nchi                =  [[Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo]], [[Jamhuri ya Kongo]]
| urefu               =  4,700 [[km]]
| kimo                =  1,400 m
| matawimto            =  [[Lufira]], [[Kasai]], [[Ubangi]]
| tawimito kulia      =  
| tawimito kushoto    =  
| mkondo              =  42,000 m³/s
| eneo                =  3,730,000 [[km²]]
| watu                = milioni 56
| miji                =  [[Kisangani]], [[Mbandaka]], [[Kinshasa]], [[Brazzaville]], [[Matadi]]
}}

'''Mto wa Kongo''' (kati ya miaka [[1971]] na [[1997]] uliitwa zaidi "[[Zaire]]") ni [[mto]] mkubwa wa [[Afrika]] ya kati. Ni [[Mito mirefu ya Afrika|mto mrefu wa pili katika Afrika]] baada ya [[Nile]]. Pia ni mto wenye [[kina]] kirefu zaidi duniani. 

[[Beseni]] la Kongo pamoja na ma[[tawimto]] yake ni eneo kubwa la pili [[duniani]] la [[msitu wa mvua]]. Kwa kiasi cha mshuko wa [[maji]] [[Mdomo|mdomoni]] ni mto mkubwa wa pili duniani baada ya [[Amazonas]] ([[Amerika ya Kusini]]).<ref>[Oberg, Kevin (July 2008). "Discharge and Other Hydraulic Measurements for Characterizing the Hydraulics of Lower Congo River, July 2008" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. 1 Discharge and Other Hydraulic  Measurements for Characterizing the  Hydraulics of Lower Congo River , July 2008, Oberg et alia]</ref> 

[[Urefu]] wake ni [[kilomita]] 4,700 ukipimwa kuanzia [[Chanzo (mto)|chanzo]] cha [[tawimto]] la mbali zaidi ambalo ni [[mto Chambeshi]] wenye chanzo nchini [[Zambia]]. Mara nyingi urefu hutajwa kuanzia chanzo cha [[Lualaba]] halafu ni kilomita 4,374. 

==Jina==
[[Jina]] la mto limetokana na [[Ufalme wa Kongo]] uliokuwa [[dola]] kubwa katika [[Angola]] ya [[Kaskazini]] na Kongo ya [[Magharibi]] wakati wa [[karne ya 14]]-[[Karne ya 17|17]] [[BK]]. [[Jamhuri]] zote [[mbili]] za [[Kongo]] za leo zimepata majina yao kutoka mto huo. 

Kuna taarifa ya [[mwaka]] [[1535]] kuhusu ufalme mdogo wa pili ulioitwa Kakongo kingdom. [[Ramani]] ya [[dunia]] iliyochorwa na [[Abraham Ortelius]] mnamo [[1564]] inaonyesha [[mji]] wa "[[Manicongo]]" kwenye mdomo wa mto kando ya [[bahari]].

Jina la [[Bakongo]] kwa ajili ya jumla ya wasemaji wa [[lugha]] ya [[Kikongo]] ni jina la kisasa lililotumiwa tangu [[karne ya 20]] tu. 

Jina la pili linalotumiwa wakati mwingine ni "Zaire"; [[dikteta]] [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] alilifanya kuwa [[jina rasmi]] la mto pamoja na la [[taifa]] kati ya miaka 1971 - 1997. Jina hilo linatokana na [[neno]] la Kikongo "nzere" ("mto")<ref>Forbath, Peter. The River Congo (1977), p. 19.</ref>. 

Katika [[Karne ya 16|karne za 16]] na [[Karne ya 17|17]] mto ulijulikana kwa majina yote mawili jinsi inavyoonekana katika [[maandishi]] ya siku zile, kwa mfano [[Mwingereza]] [[James Barbot]] aliandika mwaka [[1746]] juu ya [[safari]] kwenda mto "Kongo au Zaire" ("Voyage to Congo River, Or the Zair") <ref>James Barbot, An Abstract of a Voyage to Congo River, Or the Zair and to Cabinde in the Year 1700 (1746). </br>Mifano mingine inayotaja majina yote mawili: </br>[https://books.google.com/books?id=aj1kAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=James+Hingston+Tuckey,+Narrative+of+an+Expedition&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib34GuvbjMAhXBHJoKHUagClwQuwUIJTAA#v=onepage&q=James%20Hingston%20Tuckey%2C%20Narrative%20of%20an%20Expedition&f=false James Hingston Tuckey, Narrative of an Expedition to Explore the River Zaire, Usually Called the Congo, in South Africa, in 1816 (1818)], (via google books, imetazamiwa May 2016). </br>"Congo River, called Zahir or Zaire by the natives" John Purdy, Memoir, Descriptive and Explanatory, to Accompany the New Chart of the Ethiopic Or Southern Atlantic Ocean, 1822, p. 112.</ref>

==Beseni na mwendo==
Beseni la Kongo linalokusanya utiririshaji wa maji lina eneo la kilomita za mraba 4,014,500 <ref>Bossche, J.P. vanden; G. M. Bernacsek (1990). [https://books.google.com/books?id=WLZRxM9vfXoC&pg=PA338#v=onepage&q&f=false  Source Book for the Inland Fishery Resources of Africa, Volume 1], imetolewa na [[FAO]], pp. 338–339. ISBN 978-92-5-102983-1.</ref>. Kongo inashusha (kutegemeana na majira na kiasi cha [[mvua]]) kila [[sekunde]] kati ya [[m³]] 23,000 hadi 75,000 za maji kwenye [[Atlantiki]] ([[wastani]] umekadiria kuwa [[mita za ujazo]] 41,000 kwa sekunde)<ref>Oberg, Kevin (July 2008), uk. 3</ref>. 

Kongo na matawimto yake inapita katika eneo kubwa la [[misitu ya mvua]] duniani ([[Amazonas]] pekee inapita katika [[msitu wa mvua]] mkubwa zaidi). Kwa kuwa ikipita pande zote mbili za [[ikweta]], yaani kaskazini na kusini, sehemu fulani ya beseni lake huwa na [[majira ya mvua]] muda wowote. 

Vyanzo vya Kongo viko katika [[nyanda za juu]] na kwenye [[milima]] inayopakana na [[Bonde la Ufa la Afrika ya Mashariki]], pamoja na [[Ziwa Tanganyika]] na [[Ziwa Mweru]] ambayo yanamwaga maji kwenda [[mto Lualaba]] ulio tawimto kubwa zaidi la Kongo. Kwa kawaida chanzo cha mto Chambeshi huko Zambia, ambao unaishia katika Lualaba, huhesabiwa kama chanzo cha Kongo.

Lualaba inabadilisha jina lake mjini [[Kisangani]] ambako mto umepita [[maporomoko ya Bayoma]] na baada ya hapo huitwa Kongo. Mto unaelekea kaskazini, halafu mwendo wake unapinda kuelekea kusini magharibi, unapita mji wa [[Mbandaka]] unapopokea [[mto Ubangi]] halafu unaingia katika [[Bwawa la Malebo]] (kwa [[Kiingereza]]: ''Stanley Pool''). Miji ya [[Kinshasa]] na [[Brazzaville]] inatazamana ikiwa pande mbili za [[bwawa]] hilo. Baada ya bwawa mto unakuwa mwembamba ukipita katika [[Bonde|mabonde]] ya [[korongo]] kwenye [[idadi]] ya [[maporomoko]] inayojulikana kama maporomoko ya [[Livingstone Falls]]). Unapita miji ya [[Matadi]] na [[Boma (Kongo)]] na kuufikia baharini kwenye mji mdogo wa [[Muanda]].

== Matawimto ==
Matawimto yanaorodheshwa kuanzia mdomo kulekea chanzo. Kma namba zinatajwa zinaeleza urefu wa mwendo kwa [[kilomita]] (='''km'''), eneo la beseni la tawimto kwa [[kilomita za mraba]] (='''km²''') na mshuko wa maji yaani kiasi cha maji kinachotoka mdomoni kwa [[mita za ujazo]] kwa sekunde (='''m<sup>3</sup>/s''')

* [[Inkisi (mto)|Inkisi]]
** [[Nzadi (mto)|Nzadi]]
* [[Nsele (mto)|Nsele]] 
* [[Bombo (mto)|Bombo]]
* [[Kasai (mto)|Kwa-Kassai]] (kushoto) - 2150&nbsp;km - 881,900&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, 9,900&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>/s
** [[Fimi (mto)|Fimi]]
*** [[Lukenie (mto)|Lukenie]]
** [[Kwango (mto)|Kwango]]
** [[Sankuru (mto)|Sankuru]]
* [[Lefini (mto)|Lefini]] (kulia)
* [[Sangha (mto)|Sangha]] (kulia) - 1,400&nbsp;km, 213,400&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, 750&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>/s
** [[Kadéï (mto)|Kadéï]]
* [[Ubangi (mto)|Ubangi]] (kulia)  - 2,270&nbsp;km,  772,800&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, 4,000&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>/s
** [[Mbomou (mto)|Mbomou]]
** [[Uele (mto)|Uele]]
* [[Tshuapa (mto)]] (kushoto) - 1,000&nbsp;km
* [[Lomami (mto)]] (kushoto) - 1,400&nbsp;km

;Kongo ya Juu
Juu ya [[Miporomoko ya Boyoma]] karibu na [[Kisangani]] mto kongo hujulikana kwa jina la [[mto Lualaba]].
* [[Luvua (mto)|Luvua]]
** [[Luapula (mto)|Luapula]]
* [[Chambeshi (mto)|Chambeshi]]

==Kongo kama njia ya usafiri==
Mto Kongo ni [[njia]] muhimu ya [[mawasiliano]] na [[biashara]] kwa [[meli]] zinazoweza kusafiri mle kwa kushirikiana na njia za [[reli]] penye [[maporomoko]] mahali patatu.

[[Maporomoko ya Livingstone]] yanazuia meli kupita kutoka baharini. Kuanzia Kisangani hadi [[Kinshasa]] mto ni njia ya maji inayopitiwa na meli za mtoni. Upande wa Lualaba kuna sehemu kadhaa zinazofaa kwa meli lakini njia ya maji inakatwa mara kadhaa na maporomoko.

Sehemu kubwa ya [[bidhaa]] kwenda [[Afrika ya kati]] zinasafirishwa mtoni. 

===Umememaji===
Mto Kongo ni mto wenye maji mengi katika Afrika yote. Hivyo kuna nafasi kubwa ya kuzalisha [[umememaji]]. Kama nafasi zote zingetumika ingewezekana kutosheleza mahitaji yote ya umeme kwa Afrika [[kusini kwa Sahara]]. <ref name="weetlogs.scilogs.be">[http://weetlogs.scilogs.be/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=331&blogId=27&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Alain Nubourgh, Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC)] {{Wayback|url=http://weetlogs.scilogs.be/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=331&blogId=27&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter |date=20110902053441 }}. Weetlogs.scilogs.be (2010-04-27). Retrieved on 2011-11-29.</ref>

Hadi sasa kuna takriban vituo 49 vinavyozalisha umememaji katika beseni la Kongo. Kituo kikubwa kiko kwenye [[Lambo la Inga]] takriban kilomita 200 upande wa kusini magharibi wa [[Kinshasa]]. Mradi ulianzishwa katika [[miaka ya 1970]]. Wakati ule mfululizo wa malambo 5 ulipangwa. Hadi sasa 2 yamejengwa, lambo la kwanza (Inga I) lilikuwa tayari mwaka [[1972]], Inga II ikafuata mwaka [[1982]] na yote miwili ina rafadha 14<ref name="weetlogs.scilogs.be"/> zinazoweza kuzalisha [[megawati]] 1,775 kwa jumla, lakini kutokana na uhaba wa matengenezo na usimamzi yanafikia si zaidi ya [[nusu]] yake. <ref> [https://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/inga-1-and-inga-2-dams-3616 "Inga 1 and Inga 2 dams]" kwenye tovuti ya www.internationalrivers.org, ilitazamiwa Mei 2016</ref> 

Shirika la [[Eskom]] kutoka [[Afrika Kusini]] imependekeza kuongeza lambo la tatu na - pamoja na matengenezo kwenye malambo mengine - kuongeza uwezo wa majiumeme hadi kiwango cha [[gigawati]] 40. <ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/congo/story/0,12292,1425023,00.html |title=Could a $50bn plan to tame this mighty river bring electricity to all of Africa? |work=World news |publisher=The Guardian | location=London | first=Jeevan | last=Vasagar | date=2005-02-25 | accessdate=2010-04-30}}</ref> 

Lakini kuna wataalamu walioonyesha mashaka kuwa malambo mapya yatakuwa hatari kwa [[ekolojia]] ya mto na hasa [[maisha]] ya [[spishi]] nyingi za mtoni.<ref>Norlander, Britt (20 April 2009). "[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rough+waters%3A+one+of+the+world's+most+turbulent+rivers+is+home+to+a...-a0198169413 Rough waters: one of the world's most turbulent rivers is home to a wide array of fish species. Now, large dams are threatening their future]". Science World. (hitimisho ilitazamiwa kwenye tovuti ya the Free Library, Mei 2016)</ref>

== Tazama pia ==
* [[Kongo]] (maana)
* [[Mito mirefu ya Afrika]]

==Marejeo==
<references/>

==Kujisomea==
* 1837: [[s:Silence (Poe, short story)|Silence&nbsp;– A Fable]] is a short story by [[Edgar Allan Poe]],  written in 1837.   "The region of which I speak is a dreary region in Libya, by the borders of the river Zaire."
* 1878: [[Henry Morton Stanley]] documented his journey down the Congo River in ''[[s:Author:Henry Morton Stanley|Through the Dark Continent]]'', first published in 1878.[http://openlibrary.org/works/OL1104859W/Through_the_Dark_continent Through the Dark continent]. Open Library. Retrieved on 2011-11-29.
* 1899: [[Joseph Conrad]]'s ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'' is a short novel   about [[Charles Marlow]]'s life as an [[ivory]] transporter down the Congo River in [[Central Africa]].  The river is "a mighty big river, that you could see on the map, resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land".
* 1914: American poet [[Vachel Lindsay]] portrays a dark and savage society around the Congo River in his 1914 poem ''The Congo: A Study of the Negro Race''.
* 1921: The Congo is mentioned in [[Langston Hughes]]'s poem "[[The Negro Speaks of Rivers]]".
* 1930: Both Congo River and basin form the setting of ''[[Hoity Toity (novel)|Hoity Toity]]'', the Soviet science fiction novel by [[Alexander Belyayev]].
* 1980: The Congo River is featured in a chapter of [[Michael Crichton]]'s novel ''[[Congo (novel)|Congo]]'' (published in 1980), as well as in the 1995 film based on the book.
* 1995: The Congo River is featured in the action film [[Congo (film)|Congo]], by director [[Frank Marshall (film producer)|Frank Marshall]], although it is not mentioned by name in the film. The film is based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton.
* 1996: British author [[Redmond O'Hanlon]] has a travelogue published by Penguin Books under the title of ''Congo Journey'' (1996).
* 1998: The river's history is discussed in the 1998 book ''[[King Leopold's Ghost]]'' (by [[Adam Hochschild]]).
* 2006: The river's history is discussed in the book ''Brazza, A Life for Africa'' (by Maria Petringa, Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006).
* 2007: The Congo River and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the scenario for the 2007 book ''Blood River'' by journalist [[Tim Butcher]],{{cite web |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/71b85180-87e5-11e0-a6de-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1NccBGO3m |author=Paul Theroux |title=The places in between |publisher=Financial Times |date=27 May 2011 |accessdate=26 June 2011}} based on his intrepid travels up and down Africa's second longest river. ''Blood River'' was an attempt to retrace Henry Morton Stanley's trip down the Congo River, documented in ''Through the Dark Continent'' (first published, 1878), and was shortlisted for the 2008 [[British Book Awards]].
* 2010: The Congo River is a central element in the 2010 novel by [[Mario Vargas Llosa]], ''El sueño del celta'' ([[The Dream of the Celt]]), a fictionalisation of episodes in the life of the Irishman [[Roger Casement]]. The book is to be published in English in 2012.
* 2012: Phil Harwood's book "Canoeing the Congo" , Harwood, P. (2012). Canoeing the Congo: First Source to Sea Descent of the Congo River. Matador. ISBN 978-1780880075,

{{mbegu-jio-Afrika}}
[[Jamii:Mto Kongo|*]]
[[Jamii:Mito ya Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo]]
[[Jamii:Mito ya Jamhuri ya Kongo]]
[[Jamii:Mito ya Angola]]
[[Jamii:Mito ya Afrika]]