Overview:

Goma (CD, urban land harbor) is the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo city. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, adjacent to the city of Gisenyi, Rwanda. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift System. Goma is only 13 to 18 kilometers south of the crater of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. Goma’s recent history has been dominated by the 1994 volcano and the Rwandan genocide, which promoted the first and second Congolese wars. The aftermath of these events still affected the city and its surrounding areas in 2010.

Goma is the capital of North Kivu Province, which is ethnically similar to South Kivu (the capital Bukavu) and is adjacent to it. The two provinces are called "Kivu".