BANANA

port on the Atlantic coast in far southwestern Congo (Kinshasa), central Africa, at the mouth of the Congo River. One of the nation's older towns, it was known as a trading centre in the 19th century, mainly during the slaving period. In the 1970s and 1980s its port was developed to increase its facilities as a deepwater port, and a rail line was built to link Banana with Boma and Kinshasa, the national capital. Banana lies in deltaic mangrove forests, but northward along the coast lie some beaches, near which is Moanda, an offshore oil centre. Pop. (1991 est.) 3,165.