Pointe-Noire

Pointe-Noire
Pointe Noire Railway Station
Pointe-Noire Location in the Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 04°46′43″S 11°51′49″E / 4.77861°S 11.86361°E / -4.77861; 11.86361
Country	Republic of the Congo
Department	Pointe-Noire Department
Commune	Pointe-Noire
Founded	1883
Government
• Mayor	Roland Bouiti-Viaudo (MAR)
Area
• Total	1,144 km2 (442 sq mi)
Elevation	14 m (46 ft)
Population (2007)
• Total	715,334
• Density	630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Area code(s)	242
Website	www.pointenoireinformation.com

Pointe-Noire (Kongo: Ndindi) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region (now a separate department). It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Pointe-Noire is the main commercial centre of the country and has a population of 715,334 (2007), expanding to well over 1 million when the entire metropolitan area is taken into account.

The climate is tropically hot and humid. September and October experience somewhat less rainfall than the rest of the year.

Pointe-Noire is a commune divided into six urban districts (arrondissements):

The name Pointe Noire (Black Point) originated with Portuguese navigators who saw a block of black rocks on the headland in 1484. From then on, Pointe Noire, called Ponta Negra, became a maritime point of reference, and then a small fishing village starting in 1883, after the French signed a treaty with local people, the Loangos.

In 1910, French Equatorial Africa (Afrique équatoriale française, AEF) was created, and French companies were allowed to exploit the Middle Congo (modern-day Congo Brazzaville). It soon became necessary to build a railroad that would connect Brazzaville, the terminus of the river navigation on the Congo River and the Ubangui River, with the Atlantic coast. As rapids make it impossible to navigate on the Congo River past Brazzaville, and the coastal railroad terminus site had to allow for the construction of a deep-sea port, authorities chose the site of Ponta Negra instead of Libreville as originally envisaged. Construction of the Congo-Ocean Railway began in 1921, and led to the foundation of Pointe-Noire on 22 May 1922.