A brief description of the Congo River:
“From the western rim of this plateau, nearly a thousand feet high, the river descends to sea level in a mere 220 miles. During this tumultuous descent, the river squeezes through narrow canyons, boils up in waves 40 feet high, and tumbles over 32 separate cataracts. So great is the drop and the volume of water that these 220 miles have as much hydroelectric potential as all the lakes and rivers of the United States combined.” (Emphasis added)
![](https://www.stephenhicks.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Congo-map-1024x1020.png)
Source: Adam Hochschild, King Leopold’s Ghost (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999), p. 17.
Related: Recalling this horrifying death by crocodile in one of the Congo’s tributaries.