Inga Falls

Cataract on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

5°26′56″S 13°35′18″E / 5.448835°S 13.588362°E / -5.448835; 13.588362TypeSegmented RapidsTotal height96 metres (315 ft) ^[1]Longest drop21 metres (69 ft) ^[1]Average width914 metres (2,999 ft) ^[1]WatercourseCongo RiverAverage
flow rate25,768 m³/s (910,000 cu ft/s) (est.) ^[1]

Inga Falls is a rapid 40 km from Matadi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the Congo River drops 96 m (315 ft) over the course of 15 km (9 mi).^[2] The falls are part of a larger group of rapids in the lower Congo River. Livingstone Falls are located upstream closer to the Pool Malebo. These falls have formed in a sharp bend of Congo River where the width of river fluctuates from more than 4 km to only 260 m.^[3]

With a median discharge of 42,476 m³/s (1,500,000 ft³/s), the falls could be considered the largest in the world,^[4] but it is not widely considered to be a true waterfall. Its maximum recorded volume is 70,793 m³/s (2,500,000 ft³/s).^[2] Inga falls is also the site of two large hydroelectric dams, named Inga I and Inga II, as well as two projected dams, Inga III and the Grand Inga Dam, the latter of which would be the largest (by power production) in the world.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Inga Falls, Congo, Democratic Republic of the - World Waterfall Database". www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
^ ^a ^b World Waterfalls Database Inga Falls Archived 2018-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
^ Inga Falls Wondermondo
^ World Waterfalls Database World's Largest Waterfalls Archived 2008-12-18 at the Wayback Machine
^ Africa plans biggest dam project. BBC, Monday, 21 April 2008.