Editing Pool Malebo

{{Short description|Widening of the Congo River; part of the border between the R Congo and the DR Congo}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Pool Malebo
| image = Kinshasa & Brazzaville - ISS007-E-6305.jpg
| caption = Satellite image of the Pool Malebo; the capital cities of [[Brazzaville]], [[Republic of the Congo|ROC]] and [[Kinshasa]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC]] are indicated.
| image_bathymetry = 
| caption_bathymetry = 
| location = 
| coords = {{coord|4|16|55|S|15|29|19|E|region:CG_type:waterbody|display=title,inline}}
| lake_type = Fluvial
| inflow = [[Congo River]]
| outflow = [[Congo River]]
| catchment = 
| basin_countries = 
| length = 
| width = 
| area = 
| depth = 
| max-depth = 
| volume = 
| residence_time = 
| shore = 
| elevation = {{convert|270|m|abbr=on}}
| islands = [[Mbamu]]
| islands_category = 
| cities = [[Brazzaville]], [[Kinshasa]] 
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| pushpin_map             = Democratic Republic of the Congo#Republic of the Congo
| pushpin_label_position  = 
| pushpin_map_alt         = Location of Pool Malebo in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
| pushpin_map_caption     = 
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| website            = 
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}}

The '''Pool Malebo''', formerly '''Stanley Pool''', also known as '''Mpumbu''', '''Lake Nkunda''' or '''Lake Nkuna''' by local indigenous people in [[Pre-colonial history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|pre-colonial times]],<ref>William Graham Lister Randles, ''L’ancien royaume du Congo des origines à la fin du XIXe siècle'', Éditions de l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales, 2013, p. 44</ref><ref>Sylvie Ayimpam, ''Vie matérielle, échanges et capitalisme sur la rive méridionale du Pool du fleuve Congo (1815-1930)'', Centre d’Étude des Mondes Africains (CEMAf), 2006, p. 4</ref> is a lake-like widening in the lower reaches of the [[Congo River]].<ref name="britannica">[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/359978/Malebo-Pool "Malebo Pool"]. ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Accessed June 2011.</ref> The river serves as the border between the [[Republic of the Congo]] to the north and the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] to the south.

The pool's former name was in honour of the British explorer and journalist [[Sir Henry Morton Stanley]], who mapped this area.

==History==
In the late 19th century, British colonists named this natural feature Stanley Pool, after British explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley, who had mapped and reported on this region. When a railway was constructed nearby, a plaque was installed at Palaba to commemorate the rail line connecting [[Matadi]] to Stanley Pool.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agsafrica/id/1910/|title=Kongo Central province (Democratic Republic of the Congo), plaque at Palabala commemorating the railway|website=collections.lib.uwm.edu}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Stanley pool01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of Stanley Pool]]

The Pool Malebo is about {{convert|35|km}} long, {{convert|23|km}} wide and {{convert|500|km2|abbr=on}} in [[surface area]]. Its central part is occupied by [[M'Bamou]] or Bamu Island<ref name="britannica"/> ({{convert|180|km2|abbr=on}}), which is [[Republic of the Congo]] territory.

The pool is shallow with depths of 3&ndash;10&nbsp;m. But water levels may vary by as much as 3&nbsp;m over the course of a year, because of seasonal flooding. The altitude here is an average of {{convert|272|m}}.<!-- Why talk about altitude? Because of river valley? -->

==Geography==
The capitals of the [[Republic of the Congo]] and the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] &mdash;[[Brazzaville]] and [[Kinshasa]], respectively&mdash; are located on opposite shores of the southern part of Pool Malebo. These two capital cities are the closest geographically of any in the world (other than the contiguous [[Rome]], [[Italy]] and [[Vatican City]]).

The Pool is the beginning of the navigable part of the Congo River upstream to the cities of [[Mbandaka]], [[Kisangani]] and [[Bangui]]. Downstream, navigation of the river is blocked by its descent through hundreds of meters in a series of [[rapids]] known as the [[Livingstone Falls]].<ref name=Stanley>Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One {{ISBN|0486256677}}, Vol. Two {{ISBN|0486256685}}</ref>{{rp|Vol.Two,255}} The river reaches sea level at the port of [[Boma, Kongo Central|Boma]], Congo, after a passage of 300&nbsp;km.

==Ecology==

===Flora===
There are many [[Arecaceae|palm]] and [[papyrus]] swamps along the edges of the river and pool. Floating mats of ''[[Eichhornia]]'' plants move on the river and drift through the pool.<ref name="ecoregions">[http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=548 "Malebo Pool"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005204600/http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=548|date=2011-10-05}}. [http://www.feow.org "Freshwater Ecoregions of the World"]. [[The Nature Conservancy]]. Accessed June 2011.</ref>

===Fish===
Most fish endemic to the area are [[catfish]]es, including the [[mountain catfish]], ''L. brieni'', ''[[Leptoglanis mandevillei]]'', ''L. bouilloni'' and ''[[Atopochilus chabanaudi]]'', an [[upside-down catfish]].<ref name="ecoregions"/> More than 200 fish species have been documented. [[Mormyrid]]s are the most common, with over 40 species, and have the highest diversification.<ref name="ecoregions"/>

<gallery widths="180px" heights="120px" >
PoolMalebo.jpg|Aerial view of Pool Malebo from above Kinshasa
Congo Map by Stanley.jpg|Stanley's route is depicted by the solid black line.
DUPONT(1889) pg751 Panorama du Stanley Pool.jpg|View of Stanley Pool from [[Kinshasa|Leopoldville]], 1889 (now Kinshasa)
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Pombeiros]]

==References==
{{Commons category|Pool Malebo}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Clear}}

{{Regions of Africa}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Congo River]]
[[Category:Lakes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Malebo]]
[[Category:Lakes of the Republic of the Congo|Malebo]]
[[Category:International lakes of Africa|Malebo]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Malebo]]
[[Category:Natural pools|Malebo]]
[[Category:Freshwater ecoregions of Africa]]


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