Mayombe (or Mayumbe) is a geographic area on the western coast of Africa occupied by low mountains extending from the mouth of the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

in the south to the Kouilou-Niari River to the north. The area includes parts of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

(

Cabinda Province Cabinda (formerly called Portuguese Congo, ) is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by several political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda, known locally as ''Tchiowa'', ''Tsi ...

), the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

and

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mayombe is part of the north-western province of

Kongo Central Kongo Central (), formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the greater province of ...

on the right bank of the River Congo, and contains the cities and towns of

Lukula Lukula is a town in, and a territory of Kongo Central province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the road and disused Mayumbe railway line between Boma, to the south, and Tshela, to the north, on the southern bank of the Lakula rive ...

, Seke Banza, Kangu and

Tshela Tshela (or Tsela) is the main town of Bas-fleuve district in Kongo Central Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The town was linked to the port of Boma by an isolated narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroa ...

Physical geography

Mayumbe is located in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the right bank of the Congo River (the world's second largest) just before it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

. It extends north from Boma into the Angolan enclave of Cabinda to the west and extends north to the Republic of Congo and Gabon. Mayumbe is watered by many rivers with swift currents in its hilly and mountainous regions. The three largest are the Shiloango River and two of its main tributaries, the

Lukula River Lukula is a town in, and a territory of Kongo Central province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies on the road and disused Mayumbe railway line between Boma, to the south, and Tshela, to the north, on the southern bank of the Lakula rive ...

and the Lubuzi River. The main peaks are: * Mount Foungouti, 930 m *

Mount Bamba Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, 810 m * Kinoumbou Mountains, 784 m * Ngouedi Mountains, 780 m *

Kanga Mountains Kanga may refer to: Places * Kanga, Tanzania, a ward of Chunya District * Kangavar, a city in Kermanshah Province, Iran People * Guélor Kanga, Gabonese footballer * Hormasji Kanga (1880–1945), Indian cricketer ** Kanga Cricket League, ...

, 764 m *

Mount Bombo Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, 751 m *

Pic Kiama PIC or pic may refer to: Places * Penbay International Circuit, or PIC, a motor track circuit in Pingtung County, Taiwan * Pic River, in Ontario, Canada * Picayune (Amtrak station) (Amtrak station code PIC), Mississippi, United States * Pic, a ...

, 747 m

Climate and ecology

Mayumbe is south of the equator in the equatorial zone with oceanic influence and has two main seasons. The long dry season from June to September in the Mayumbe is not as intense as in the rest of the Lower Congo because of the altitude and the influence of the forest. Temperatures range from 17 to 22, but can drop to 8 ° at night. Nights can be quite cool. The long rainy season lasts from October to May, with temperatures of 28-33°. The climate is hot and humid, especially during the rainy season when the humidity is near to 100%. This feeling of constant humidity is further increased by the condensation of the vapors of the trade winds that cool the cliffs of the Coastal Range. Flora vary from dense forest to savannah dotted with forest trees. The forests of Mayumbe are old. Some of the trees are valuable, especially the Limba. Palm trees are plentiful in the Elais Mayumbe and are found in forests and in the savanna. They form one of the great resources of this region for its inhabitants. The area's forests were estimated in 1950 to cover . More recently they have declined to , of which Limba account for over 40%.

People

Among the ethnic groups that inhabit this region the Yombe, a subset of the

Kongo people The Kongo people (also , singular: or ''M'kongo; , , singular: '') are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others. They have li ...

, are the most numerous. Mayombe is famous in Senegal because it is an important place of exile of the founder of

Mouridism The Mouride brotherhood (, ''aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah'' or simply , ''al-Murīdiyyah'') is a large ''tariqa'' (Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in the city of Touba, which is a holy city for the order ...

Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Sheikh Amadou Bamba (1853–1927), also known to followers as the Servant of the Messenger () and Serigne Touba or "Sheikh of Touba", was a Sufi saint and religious leader in Senegal and the founder of the Mouride Brotherhood (the ''Muri ...

, during the French colonial administration. He remained there for five years.

Railway

The Mayombe Railway linked Boma to Tshela, with a planned extension to the Republic of Congo. It was dismantled under President

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

and the tracks were reused near

Gbadolite Gbadolite or Gbado-Lite () is the capital of Nord-Ubangi Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is located south of the Ubangi River at the border to the Central African Republic and northeast of the national capital Kinshasa ...

. The Mayombe in Congo is covered by the Congo-Ocean Railway.

References

External sources

* Léo Bittremieux, ''La société secrète des Bakhimba au Mayombe'', G. van Campenhout, Bruxelles, 1936, 327 p. * H. de Foresta (et al.), « Un premier site de métallurgie de l'Age du Fer Ancien (2.110 BP) dans le Mayombe congolais et ses implications sur la dynamique des éco-systèmes », in ''Bulletin de liaison des archéologues du monde Bantu'' (Libreville), n° 7, 1990, p. 10-12 * M. Fuchs, « Le Mayombe », in ''Bulletin de la Société Royale Belge de Géographie'', 19 (1) 1895, p. 5-23 * François Pellegrin, ''La flore du Mayombe : d'après les récoltes de M. Georges le Testu'' (2^e partie), Impr. E. Lanier, Caen, 1928, 83 p. * Dominique Schwartz (et al.), « Un site de fonte du fer récent (300 bp) et original dans le Mayombe congolais : Ganda-Kimpesse », in ''Bulletin de liaison des archéologues du monde Bantu'' (Libreville), 8/9, 1991, p. 33-40 * Jacques Sénéchal, Matuka Kabala et Frédéric Fournier, ''Revue des connaissances sur le Mayombe : synthèse préparée pour le Projet PNUD/UNESCO, PRC/85/002 et PRC/88/003'', UNESCO, 1989, 343 p. * Léo Bittremieux, ''Mayombsche volkskunst'', De Vlaamsche Boekenhalle, Louvain, 1924, 227 p. {{Authority control Regions of Africa Geography of Angola Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Geography of Gabon Geography of the Republic of the Congo Kongo Central Cabinda Province

Physical geography

Climate and ecology

People

Railway

See also

References

External sources