Find Congo on the Map

First, can you find the continent of Africa on this map? (You can click on the map to see a larger version.)

Good for you! Now can you find Congo in Africa? (Click on the map to see it larger.)

Congo is the large, square country right in the middle of Africa.

Did you notice that there are two countries named Congo? (Tip: The smaller one is hard to see because it's colored brown on this map. Click to the larger map, place the cursor anywhere on that map, and you'll see that it looks like a magnifying glass. Click that to make the map expand even more. Then you can see better.) What is the difference in their names?

That's right: One is the Republic of Congo and the other is the Democratic Republic of Congo. The one we're talking about is the big one -- the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its name is usually abbreviated as the "DR Congo." (In Congo it's the "RD Congo," because they use the French form of the name: Republique Democratique du Congo.)

Do you know why both of those countries are named Congo? Do you see the name Congo anywhere else on this map of the country? Look carefully! (You can click on this one too.)

Right! The Congo River - the second longest river in all of Africa. (Do you know which is the longest? The answer is below.) The Congo River comes from eastern DR Congo, curves up and around, and then heads down towards the south Atlantic ocean. For that last part of its course, it flows between the two countries. That's why they both have Congo in their names.

(The longest river in Africa is the Nile. Did you get it right?)