Niger River
The Niger River (/ˈnaɪdʒər/ NY-jər; French: (le) fleuve Niger [(lə) flœv niʒɛʁ]) is the main river of West Africa, extending about 4,180 kilometres (2,600 miles). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile and the Congo River. Its main tributary is the Benue River.
The Pont Kennedy across the Niger at Niamey, early 2019 | |
| Etymology | Unknown (possibly from Berber for River Gher or local Tuareg word n-igereouen meaning "big rivers") |
| Location | |
| Countries | |
| Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Guinea Highlands, Guinea |
| • coordinates | 09°05′50″N 10°40′58″W |
| • elevation | 850 m (2,790 ft) |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
• location | Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria |
• coordinates | 5°19′20″N 6°28′9″E |
| Length | 4,200 km (2,600 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) |
| Width | |
| • average | 1.24 km (0.77 mi) to 1.73 km (1.07 mi) (Lokoja) |
| Depth | |
| • maximum | 37 m (121 ft) (Lokoja) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Niger Delta |
| • average | 6,925 m3/s (244,600 cu ft/s) to 7,922.3 m3/s (279,770 cu ft/s) (250 km3/a (1.9 cu mi/Ms)) |
| • maximum | 35,000 m3/s (1,200,000 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Onitsha |
| • average | 6,470.8 m3/s (228,510 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Lokoja |
| • average | 5,754.7 m3/s (203,230 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 500 m3/s (18,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 27,600 m3/s (970,000 cu ft/s) (04/10/2022: 33,136 m3/s (1,170,200 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Niamey |
| • average | 737.7 m3/s (26,050 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Bamako |
| • average | 1,091.7 m3/s (38,550 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Tinkisso, Sokoto, Kaduna, Gurara, Benue, Anambra |
| • right | Niandan, Milo, Sankarani, Bani, Gorouol, Sirba, Mékrou, Alibori, Sota, Oli, Orashi, Warri |
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