Ituri Forest

Congo River basin and drainage network

Ituri Forest, French Forêt de L’Ituri, dense tropical rainforest lying on the northeastern lip of the Congo River basin in the Central African nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Situated between 0° and 3° N latitude and 27° and 30° E longitude, the precise geographic limits of the Ituri are poorly defined, especially along its southern and western extensions. The Ituri is bounded to the north and northeast by savanna and in the east by the fertile highlands of the Western Rift Valley, while to the south and west it is contiguous with the lowland rainforest, where its rivers drain into the Congo River. The total area of the Ituri Forest is approximately 24,300 square miles (62,900 square km). The forest, which is inhabited by both Bantu-speaking and Pygmy peoples, owes its name to the Ituri River, which flows east-west across the forest into the Aruwimi River and thence to the Congo.