Moanda or Muanda is a town and
territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
lying on the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
coast of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
at the mouth of the
Congo River
The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharg ...
.
[, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency] It is situated in
Kongo Central Province, and has a population of 90,812 as of 2012. The town has an
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
and is known for its beaches, and has a few limited tourist facilities, but tourism is incidental to the main economic activities of the town.
The town of Muanda is north-west of the small port of
Banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...
in the mouth of the Congo, and southeast of Point Kipundji.
The Moanda Oil Terminal, consisting of various platforms, pipelines and a permanent tanker, lies 10 miles southwest of Point Kipundji.
Some 100 km upstream from Muanda, on the north bank of the Congo River, lies the city of
Boma, DR Congo's second-largest port. The great width and depth of the Congo River allow seagoing vessels to reach Boma and the largest port,
Matadi, despite their distance from the coast.
Climate
The
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies Moanda‘s climate as
tropical wet and dry (''Aw''), although it is only marginally wet enough to avoid being classed as a
hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...
(''BSh'').
See also
*
Mangroves National Park
Mangroves National Park (also french: Parc marin des Mangroves or Muanda Marine Reserve) is a protected area and Ramsar wetland in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's only marine park and is notable for its mangrove forest ...
References
External links
Description of Muanda (French)
Populated places in Kongo Central
Communities on the Congo River
{{DRCongo-geo-stub