Mbamu (also: M´Bamou and Bamu) is an island in the Pool Malebo, a large lake formed by a widening of the

River Congo The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume, following the Amazon and Ganges rivers. It is the w ...

. The island is territory of the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

. Mbamu was a demilitarized zone under the neutral regime established in the Franco-Belgian Convention of 1908, when these two countries exerted colonial rule over the territories on either side of the River Congo. The Pool Malebo has a surface area of 180 km²."Malebo Pool"Encyclopædia Britannica
Accessed June 2017. Two national capitals are located downriver: to the northwest along the river is

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

, capital of

. To the south of the pool and river is

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

, capital of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(Congo-Kinshasa).

References

Islands of the Republic of the Congo Demilitarized zones Geography of Brazzaville Geography of Kinshasa Congo River Lake islands of Africa {{RCongo-geo-stub