Congo River The Congo River (ALSOKNOWN as the Zaire River; French: (LE) fleuve Congo/Zaïre; PORTUGUESE: rio Congo/Zaire; Kongo: Nzâdi Kôngo) is a river in Africa. It is the second largest river in the world by discharge (after the Amazon), and the world's deepest river with measured depths in excess of 220 m (720 ft).