Hydrogeology of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Hydrogeology by country >> Hydrogeology of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Most of the textual information on this page was taken from the chapter on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Zaire) in the report ‘Groundwater in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa’ (UN 1989). This information is outdated. If you have more recent information on the hydrogeology of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, please get in touch.

Compilers

Dr Kirsty Upton and Brighid Ó Dochartaigh, British Geological Survey, UK

Geographical Setting

The central part of the country is a large basin ranging in altitude from 350 to 700 m above sea level, with broad steep-sided valleys. To the east of this basin is a mountain ridge from 2300 to 3800 m above sea level that marks the edge of the East African Rift. To the south are the high Kasai and Shaba plateaus, from 1000 to 2000m above sea level. To the west are the Mayumbe hills, around 750 m in elevation, with narrow cols and valleys. To the north the basin is bounded by the watershed of the Oubangui river. The coastal area in the west, on the Atlantic Ocean, contains largely low land and sandy beaches, or cliffs.

Map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (For more information on the datasets used in the map see the geography resources section)

General

Estimated Population in 2013*	67,513,677
Rural Population (% of total) (2013)*	58.5%
Total Surface Area*	2,267,050 sq km
Agricultural Land (% of total area) (2012)*	11.5%
Capital City	Kinshasa
Region	Central Africa
Border Countries	Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal (2013)*	683.6 Million cubic metres
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Agriculture (2013)*	10.5%
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Domestic Use (2013)*	68%
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Industry (2013)*	21.5%
Rural Population with Access to Improved Water Source (2012)*	29%
Urban Population with Access to Improved Water Source (2012)*	79.1%

* Source: World Bank

Climate

The Democratic Republic of the Congo lies on the equator. Average temperatures across much of the country are around 25 degrees C, except in the eastern mountains where average temperatures are around 20 degrees C. There is much cloud cover over much of the year, with the maximum sunshine in the dry season.

Average annual rainfall for the whole country is over 1,200 mm, rising to more than 2,000 mm in the central basin, and falling to a minimum of around 850 mm at the western coast. There is a single rainy season, from September to June in the south and from February to November in the north; and a single dry season, in june and July in the south and December and January in the north.

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  Koppen Geiger Climate Zones

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  Average Annual Precipitation

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  Average Temperature

For further detail on the climate datasets used see the climate resources section.

Surface water

The Congo river - the largest river basin in Africa - drains all surface water in the country. It has many large tributaries, many of which have been dammed for hydroelectric power production.

Surface Water Map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (For more information on the datasets used in the map see the surface water resources section)

Soil

Soil Map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (For map key and more information on the datasets used in the map see the soil resources section)

Land cover

Land Cover Map of COUNTRY (For map key and more information on the datasets used in the map see the land cover resources section)

Geology

This section provides a summary of the geology of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More information is available in the report UN (1989). (see References section, below).

The geology map shows a simplified version of the geology at a national scale (see the Geology resources page for more details).

Summary

The older Precambrian basement in the country is variously metamorphised and deformed. Overlying this are unmetamorphosed, largely undeformed sedimentary rocks: in the coastal zone, these are largely marine formations of Cretaceous and Tertiary age; and in the central basin they form a series of Upper Carboniferous to Cenozoic age. Overlying all of these rocks are Recent Quaternary weathered and/or unconsolidated sediments, such as valley alluvium and lateritic gravels.

Geological Environments

Key Formations	Period	Lithology
Unconsolidated sedimentary
Alluvium and lacustrine deposits, lateritic gravels, and other unconsolidated deposits	Quaternary (Recent/Holocene)	Fine to coarse sands and gravels; clays and sandy clays.
Sedimentary
Soft sandstones and argillaceous rocks	Cretaceous to Tertiary
Upper Carboniferous to Cretaceous
Basement
Crystalline, metamorphosed, basement rocks	Precambrian	Includes granitic and other igneous-metamorphic rocks, and metalimestones and dolomitic limestones (sometimes karstic).

Hydrogeology

This section provides a summary of the hydrogeology of the main aquifers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More information is available in the report UN (1989) (see References section, below).

The hydrogeology map shows a simplified version of the type and productivity of the main aquifers at a national scale (see the Aquifer properties resource page for more details).

Unconsolidated

Named Aquifers	General Description
Alluvial sands; lateritic gravels

Sedimentary - Intergranular Flow

Named Aquifers	General Description

Sedimentary - Intergranular & Fracture Flow

Named Aquifers	General Description

Sedimentary - Fracture Flow

Named Aquifers	General Description
Metamorphosed limestones and dolomitic limestones

Basement

Named Aquifers	General Description

Groundwater use and management

Transboundary aquifers

For further information about transboundary aquifers, please see the Transboundary aquifers resources page

References

The following references provide more information on the geology and hydrogeology of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

These, and others, can be accessed through the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive

United Nations. 1989. Groundwater in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa: Zaire. United Nations Department of Technical Cooperation for Development, Natural Resources/Water Series No.19, ST/TCD/6.

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