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1) The Congo Pedicle is a foot-like panhandle region in the southeastern corner of the DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO and situated near ZAMBIA. The pedicle area features a national park known as Demalisques de Leshwe, possibly named after the genus (damaliscus) of which animal?
A — sloth
B — aardvark
C — antelope
D — penguin
2) True or false: There is an island named Komodo in INDONESIA.
3) The third highest mountain the world is Kangchenjunga, a Himalayan peak standing over 8,500 meters and 28,000 feet tall. Kangchenjunga is situated on the border between INDIA and what mountainous country flying a double pennant shaped flag?
A — ARGENTINA
B — BANGLADESH
C — SWITZERLAND
D — NEPAL
ANSWERS
Question 1:
C . . . . . antelope
Question 2:
True . . . . . it is home to the world-renown Komodo dragon!
Question 3:
D . . . . . Nepal
Learn more about the wonderful world with the help of a GeoFact of the Day Geography Bee Quiz (↗) like this one! I hope you enjoy these tasty morsels of knowledge. The answers to this quiz are listed below — enjoy and good luck!
1) To aid in the dispersal of dandelion seeds by wind (or when people blow on the dandelion), a feature known as the _______ acts like a “parachute” to keep the seeds afloat.
A — pappus
B — petal
C — stamen
D — husk
2) True or false: EQUATORIAL GUINEA is situated directly on the Equator Line.
3) Once known as Belgian Congo and later as Zaire, this vast country lies east of the smaller REPUBLIC of the CONGO.
A — ANGOLA
B — BENIN
C — DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC of the CONGO (D.R. Congo)
D — DJIBOUTI
ANSWERS
Question 1:
A . . . . . pappus
Question 2:
False . . . . . slightly north of the Equator by about 1 to 2 degrees
Question 3:
C . . . . . Democratic Republic of the Congo
People all across the DR CONGO (Democratic Republic of the Congo) celebrate their country's Independence Day today. This large country in Central Africa achieved independence from Belgium in 1960. Happy Independence Day to all Congelese people!
● Biodiversity
● Civil war, unfortunately
● Dense rainforests
● Expansive Congo River
● Government corruption and kleptocracy, unfortunately
● Mountain gorillas
● Musician François “Franco” Luambo Makiadi
● Over 700 languages
Listed in The Africa Book; the MLA citation is below. What are other "trademarks" of this African country? Feel free to share your thoughts with a comment!
Phillips et al. The Africa Book: A Journey through Every
Country in the Continent. Lonely Planet, 2007.
— #AfricaWeek —
According to Ethnologue (↗), a total of 315 living languages are currently used for communication in GABON, the DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO ("Kinshasa Congo"), and the REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO ("Brazzaville Congo"). A relic of France's controversial African colonization, the official language for all three countries is French. You will find that some languages listed below are present in all three Central African nations. Figures in parentheses are estimates of the number of communicators within each country.
● ● ● ● ● Gabon's 43 prominently communicated languages include Baka, Bekwel, Benga, Bubi, Duma, Fang (350,000 communicators), French (over 1 million), Kota, Lumbu, Mahongwe, Mbangwe, Mbere, Myene, Ndumu, Ngom, Njebi, Punu (160,000), Sake, Sangu, Sira, Tchitchege, Teke-Tege (95,000), Tsaangi, Tsogo, Vili, Vumbu, Wandji, Wumbvu, and Yasa.
● ● ● ● ● The DR Congo's 210 languages include Aloro (Alur; 750,000 communicators), Asoa, Aushi, Avokaya, Bali, Baloi, Banda (Togbo-Vara), Bangala (3,500,000), Bangba, Bangi, Bangubangu, Barambu, Bemba (300,000), Bembe (255,000), Bendi, Bera, Bhele, Bila, Binji, Boko, Bolia, Boma, Bomboma, Budu, Budza (230,000), Bushoong, Buyu, Bwa (Kibua; 200,000), Bwile, Chokwe (505,000), Congo (Koongo; over 8,000,000), Congo Swahili (over 9,000,000), Ding, Dongo, Efe, Enya, Foma, French (6,100,000), Fuliiru (400,000), Furu, Gilima, Gobu, Hamba, Havu (510,000), Hema, Hemba, Holoholo, Hunde (200,000), Kakwa, Kanyok (200,000), Kaonde, Kela, Kélé, Kinyarwanda (250,000), Kituba (Kikongo; 5,000,000), Komo (400,000), Kusu, Kwese, Lalia, Lega-Mwenga, Lega-Shabunda (400,000), Lele, Lendu (750,000), Lengola, Lese, Libinza, Ligenza, Lika, Lingala (2,050,000), Lobala, Logo (225,000), Lombi, Lombo, Luba-Kasi (Tshiluba; 7,000,000), Luba-Katanga (Kiluba; 1,500,000), Lugbara (850,000), Luna, Lusengo, Lwalu, Mabaale, Mamvu, Mangbetu (620,000), Mayekyeka, Mayogo, Mba, Mbala (230,000), Mbandja (355,000), Mbo, Mbole, Mituku, Mongo-Nkundu (400,000), Mono, Mpuono, Nande (910,000), Ndaka, Ndo, Ndobo, Ngando (220,000), Ngbaka (over 1,000,000), Ngbaka Ma’bo (Bouaka), Northern Ngbandi (250,000), Southern Ngbandi, Ngbundu, Ngelima, Ngiti, Ngombe, Ntomba, Nyali, Nyanga, Nyanga-li (Linyanga-le), Nzakara, Omi, Pagibete, Pambia, Phende (420,000), Poke, Ruunde, Sakata, Salampasu, Sanga (435,000), San Salvador Kongo (540,000), Seba, Sengele, Shi (655,000), Sonde, Songe (1,000,000), Songo, Songomeno, Suku, Taabwa (270,000), Tagbu, Talinga-Bwisi, Teke-Ibali, Tembo, Tetela (750,000), Tiene, Wongo, Yaka (700,000), Yakoma, Yamongeri, Yansi, Yela, Yombe (670,000), Zande (730,000), and Zimba.
● ● ● ● ● Finally, the Republic of the Congo's 62 languages include Aka, Akwa, Beembe (100,000 communicators), Bekwel, Bobangi, Bomitaba, Bomwali, Bongili, Doondo, Fang, French (over 2,500,000), Kako, Kituba (1,490,000), Koongo, Kota, Kunyi (117,000), Laari (135,000), Likuba, Likwala, Lingala (182,000), Mbaka (Ngbaka Ma'bo; 135,000), Mbandja, Mbere (90,000), Mboko, Monzombo, Mpyemo (Bimu), Ngungwel, Njebi, Ombamba, Pomo (Pol), Soundi (Suundi; 185,000), Teke-Eboo, Teke-Fuumu, Teke-Ibali, Teke-Kukuya, Teke-Tege, Teke-Tsaayi (100,000), Teke-Tyee, Tsaangi, Vili, Wumbvu, Yaka, and Yombe.
The following items are major exports of the DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: bananas and plantains (and other tropical fruit), cassava, cement, clothing and textiles, cobalt, cocoa, coffee, coltan (niobium and tantalum), corn (maize), diamonds and other gemstones, footwear, gold, lumber and timber, palm oil, peanuts, petroleum, plastic, processed foods and beverages, quinine, root crops, rubber, silver, sugarcane, tea, and zinc. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports (February 2017 statistics) include China (top importer), Zambia, South Korea, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Namibia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, India, Finland, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Taiwan, Morocco, and the United States.
As of March 30th, 2015, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for the DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO in central Africa lists two extinct species - Acalypha dikuluwensis flowering plant and Basananthe cupricola passionflower - since the beginning of IUCN recordkeeping. Interestingly, beautiful passionflowers such as the former Basananthe cupricola have been and are still used to treat a variety of ailments, including insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, muscle spasms, seizures, hysteria, nervousness and anxiety, and high blood pressure (WebMD link). This species (last seen in 1980) and the Acalypha dikuluwensis species (last seen in 1959) formerly lived in Katanga province of southeastern DR Congo.
In regards to endangered species in the DR Congo, there are 32 critically endangered species and 93 endangered species. Some critically endangered species include the Dryad Monkey, Itombwe Massif Clawed Frog, Mt. Kahuzi African Climbing Mouse, Largetooth Sawfish and Smalltooth Sawfish, Slender-snouted Crocodile, and Western Gorilla.
Democratic Republic of the Congo post (link opens in new tab/window)
In comparison to nearby Lake Victoria, Lake Kivu is a smaller lake and is situated on the border between the DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO and RWANDA. Idjwi is the largest island in the lake and belongs to the Dem. Rep. of the Congo; Kashofu is a town on the southern shore. Surrounding towns and cities include Bugaza, Bukavu, Goma, and Kabare in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo and Cyangugu, Gisenyi, and Kibuye in Rwanda.
Quite a few capitals previously had different names. The following is a list of many, definitely not all, of the capitals that had different names in the past — they are categorized by continent.
AFRICA
Bujumbura, BURUNDI's former capital (Gitega is the new capital since 2019), was called Usumbura until 1962.
N'Djamena, CHAD's capital, was called Fort Lamy until 1973.
Kinshasa, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO's capital, was called Léopoldville until 1966.
Banjul, the capital of GAMBIA, was named Bathurst until 1973.
Antananarivo, MADAGASCAR's capital, was named Tananarive until 1975.
Maputo, MOZAMBIQUE's capital, was named Lourenço Marques until Mozambique's independence in 1976.
Harare, ZIMBABWE's capital, was named Salisbury until 1982.
ASIA
Tbilisi, GEORGIA's capital, was known as Tpilisi (Georgian) or Tiflis (Russian) until 1936.
Jakarta, INDONESIA's highly-populated capital, was known as Sunda Kelapa, then Jayakata, then Batavia, then Djakarta from 1949 to 1972.
Tokyo, JAPAN's capital located on the island of Honshu, was previously named Edo until 1868.
Astana, KAZAKHSTAN's capital, was known as Tselinograd, then Aqmola.
Bishkek, KYRGYZSTAN's capital, was named Pishpek until 1926 and Frunze until 1991, the fall of the Soviet Union.
Ulaanbaatar, MONGOLIA's capital, was known as Ugra until 1924.
Dushanbe, TAJIKISTAN's capital, was called Dyushambe until 1929 and received the name Stalinagrad until 1961.
Ankara, TURKEY's capital, was called Angora until 1930.
Ashgabat, TURKMENISTAN's capital, was called Poltoratsk from 1919 until 1927.
EUROPE
Belgrade, SERBIA's capital, was known as Singidunum in ancient times.
Podgorica, MONTENEGRO's capital, was known as Birziminium before the 11th century, Ribnica during the Middle Ages, and Titograd from 1946 to 1992. The capital possessed the name Podgorica in 1326 until 1946, resuming in 1992.
SOUTH AMERICA
Sucre, one of two capitals of BOLIVIA and named in honor of Antonio José de Sucre, was called Chuquisaca until 1825.
Credit goes to the New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Edition, which conveniently listed former capital names.
The DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, formerly known as Zaire, is the 2nd largest African country. It was formerly the 3rd largest until South Sudan became independent on July 9, 2011, decreasing the size of Sudan. it is located in Central Africa. There are 9 bordering countries: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Tanzania borders the DR Congo only if you consider that the border runs through Lake Tanganyika — not on land. The capital is Kinshasa. The currency is the Congolese Franc, and the ISO 4217 currency code is CDF.
The Nile River is sometimes known as the longest river in the world — contending with the Amazon River for the longest river designation. The Nile River stretches for more than 4,100 miles and almost 6,600 miles long! The Nile and its major tributaries — the Blue Nile (east) and White Nile (south) — runs through 11 countries in Africa: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. The northern and main portion of the Nile is found in Egypt and Sudan. The Blue Nile predominantly flows through Ethiopia and Sudan. The White Nile is especially wide in South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.
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