Libreville, Gabon

Libreville , capital of Gabon, a port on the Gabon River estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. Primarily an administrative center, it is also a trade center for a lumbering region. The city was founded in 1843 as a French trading station. Freed slaves were sent there, and in 1848 it was named Libreville.

Much of Gabon looks like the old Hollywood image of African jungle, with mysterious rivers wending their way through dense forest filled with chattering monkeys and exotic birds. But when it comes to jungle, Gabon is the real thing: More than three-quarters of the country is covered in tropical forests, and even Libreville, the modern capital, looks as though it were recently carved out of the surrounding tangle of trees and vines.