LIVINGSTONE FALLS

French Chutes de Livingstone, series of 32 rapids and cataracts on the Congo River, extending for about 220 miles (354 km) between Kinshasa and Matadi in Congo (Kinshasa) and partially along the border with Congo (Brazzaville). The total drop of the falls is about 850 feet (260 m), despite only minor rapids over an 87-mile (140-kilometre) stretch to Isangila. The falls, beginning 100 miles (160 km) inland from the coast, prevent navigation from the mouth of the river to the interior but provide, in return, a tremendous potential for hydropower, as manifested in the giant Inga hydroelectric scheme just above Matadi. Other dams have been built (mainly on Congo tributaries). The falls, named for the Scottish explorer-missionary David Livingstone, were crossed in 1877 by Henry (later Sir Henry) Morton Stanley, who charted the course of the Congo River.