The Pool Malebo, formerly Stanley Pool, also known as Mpumbu, Lake Nkunda or Lake Nkuna by local indigenous people in pre-colonial times, is a lake-like widening in the lower reaches of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

."Malebo Pool"
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

''. Accessed June 2011. The river serves as the border between the Republic of the Congo on the north and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

to the south. The pool's former name was in honour of the British explorer and journalist

Sir Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh Americans, Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Afr ...

, who mapped this area.

History

In the late 19th century, British colonists named this natural feature Stanley Pool, after British explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley, who had mapped and reported on this region. When a railway was constructed nearby, a plaque was installed at Palaba to commemorate the rail line connecting

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

to Stanley Pool.

Description

The Pool Malebo is about long, wide and in surface area. Its central part is occupied by

M'Bamou Mbamu (also: M´Bamou and Bamu) is an island in the Pool Malebo, a large lake formed by a widening in the River Congo. The island is territory of the Republic of the Congo (Congo Brazzaville). Mbamu is a demilitarized zone under the neutral regim ...

or Bamu Island (), which is Republic of the Congo territory. The pool is shallow with depths of 3–10 m. But water levels may vary by as much as 3 m over the course of a year, because of seasonal flooding. The altitude here is an average of .

Geography

The capitals of the Republic of the Congo and the

— Brazzaville and Kinshasa, respectively— are located on opposite shores of the southern part of Pool Malebo. These two capital cities are the closest geographically of any in the world (other than the contiguous

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

). The Pool is the beginning of the navigable part of the Congo River upstream to the cities of

Mbandaka Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch) is a city on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers. It is the capital of Équateur Provin ...

Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...

and

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

. Downstream, navigation of the river is blocked by its descent through hundreds of meters in a series of rapids known as the

Livingstone Falls Livingstone Falls (French: ''Chutes Livingstone''; Dutch: ''Livingstonewatervallen''), named for British explorer David Livingstone, are a succession of enormous rapids on the lower course of the Congo River in west equatorial Africa, downs ...

.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , Vol. Two The river reaches sea level at the port of Boma, Congo, after a passage of 300 km.

Ecology

Flora

There are many

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

and

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

swamps along the edges of the river and pool. Floating mats of ''

Eichhornia ''Eichhornia'', commonly called water hyacinths, was a polyphyletic genus of the aquatic flowering plants family Pontederiaceae. Since it was consistently recovered in three independent lineages, it has been sunk into '' Pontederia'', togethe ...

'' plants move on the river and drift through the pool."Malebo Pool"

"Freshwater Ecoregions of the World"

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

. Accessed June 2011.

Fish

Most fish endemic to the area are

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

es, including the

mountain catfish A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

, ''L. brieni'', ''

Leptoglanis mandevillei ''Leptoglanis'' is a genus of loach catfishes found in Africa. There are currently two described species in this genus. Species * ''Leptoglanis bouilloni'' Poll, 1959 * ''Leptoglanis xenognathus'' Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable peop ...

'', ''L. bouilloni'' and ''

Atopochilus chabanaudi ''Atopochilus chabanaudi'' is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Republic of the Congo where it occurs in Stanley Pool. It is consumed for food and is threatened by urbanisation of Stanley Pool, water pollution and lead toxicity whi ...

'', an

upside-down catfish The name upside-down catfish is most commonly used by aquarists to refer to the mochokid catfish '' Synodontis nigriventris'' alternately known to ichthyologists as the blotched upside-down catfish or false upside-down catfish. However, a numbe ...

. More than 200 fish species have been documented.

Mormyrid The Mormyridae, sometimes called "elephantfish" (more properly freshwater elephantfish), are a family of weakly electric freshwater fish in the order Osteoglossiformes native to Africa. It is by far the largest family in the order with around 20 ...

s are the most common, with over 40 species, and have the highest diversification. PoolMalebo.jpg, Aerial view of Pool Malebo from above Kinshasa Congo Map by Stanley.jpg, Stanley's route is depicted by the solid black line. DUPONT(1889) pg751 Panorama du Stanley Pool.jpg, View of Stanley Pool from Leopoldville, 1889 (now Kinshasa)

References

Congo River Malebo Malebo Malebo Malebo Malebo Freshwater ecoregions of Africa {{DRCongo-geo-stub