<P> The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo are named after it, as was the previous Republic of the Congo which had gained independence in 1960 from the Belgian Congo . </P> <P> The state of Zaire during 1971--1997 was also named after the river, after its name in French and Portuguese . </P> <P> The Congo's drainage basin covers 4,014,500 square kilometres (1,550,000 sq mi). The Congo's discharge at its mouth ranges from 23,000 to 75,000 cubic metres per second (810,000 to 2,650,000 cu ft / s), with an average of 41,000 cubic metres per second (1,400,000 cu ft / s). </P> <P> The river and its tributaries flow through the Congo Rainforest, the second largest rain forest area in the world, second only to the Amazon Rainforest in South America . The river also has the second - largest flow in the world, behind the Amazon; the third - largest drainage basin of any river, behind the Amazon and Plate rivers; and is one of the deepest rivers in the world, at depths greater than 220 m (720 ft). Because its drainage basin includes areas both north and south of the equator, its flow is stable, as there is always at least one part of the river experiencing a rainy season . </P>

Where is the source of most rivers located