Belgian ) Congo I. GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL O > ( 1 ) POSITION AND FRONTIERS The Belgian Congo is situated in the basin of the River Congo in Equatorial Africa, and lies between 5 ° 20 ' north and 14° south latitude and between 12 ° 5 ' and 31 ° 18' east longitude. Practically the whole region drains to the River Congo, and the chief means of access is from the Atlantic coast, but the Congo does not give that unity to the country which might be expected from these facts, as both it and its tributaries are in certain parts of their courses interrupted by falls and do not form good through routes. The Katanga region belongs physically to the South African plateau and has been developed as a result of the general movement towards the north , which may be seen in most of the South African colonies . The Eastern Highlands which border the Western Rift valley belong to East Africa , and the movement to bring them within the hinterland of the Indian Ocean has become pronounced within recent years . The north-eastern districts which border the Congo - Nile divide and the eastern part of the country between the Welle (Uele ) and the Ituri may conceivably turn towards the Nile as they develop, and even at present a certain amount of trade takes place by that route.

The original idea in the foundation of the State was that it should include the whole basin of the Congo, but various political circumstances have restricted it within somewhat narrower limits. The frontier, as it exists at the present time, is therefore of varying character, and is in places more or less arbitrary.

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