May 15, 2021 - The Congo River

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   Congo, DRC, Congo River
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   On May 11, 2021, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
   aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the Congo
   River, Lake Tumba, Lake Mai-Ndombe and the green lands of the Republic
   of the Congo (west) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (east).

   The Congo River cuts through clouds, cities, and jungles on its
   2,718-mile (4,374-km) journey from the origins in Zamia to the outlet
   in the Atlantic Ocean. The longest river in Central Africa and the
   second-longest river in all of Africa (second only to the Nile), the
   Congo River Basin includes all of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
   (DRC), and parts of Burundi, Zambia, Angola, Rwanda, Central African
   Republic, Cameroon, and the Republic of the Congo, thus also earning
   the title of the African river with the largest basin.

   Lake Tumba, combined with the small Lake Tele (located in the Republic
   of the Congo north of this image), are part of the world’s largest
   swamp forest and the worlds second-largest wetland area, according to
   the World Wildlife Fund. This region, spanning about 126,440 square
   kilometers (48,820 square miles), consists of marshes,
   seasonally-flooded forests, and meadows. The elongated Lake Mai-Ndombe
   sits south of Lake Tumba. This long, shallow freshwater lake spans
   about 2,300 square kilometers (890 square miles) in the dry season, but
   during the rainy season the lake floods. Seasonal flooding can cause
   Lake Mai-Ndombe to triple its dry-season size.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Terra
   Date Acquired: 5/11/2021
   Resolutions:  1km (147.9 KB),  500m (386.5 KB),  250m (227.1
   KB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-05-15
 
