Niger River

Niger River

Niger River, Niger basin [Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]principal river of western Africa. With a length of 2,600 miles (4,200 km), it is the third longest river in Africa, after the Nile and the Congo. The Niger is believed to have been named by the Greeks. Along its course it is known by several names. These include the Joliba (Malinke: “great river”) in its upper course; the Mayo Balleo and the Isa Eghirren in its central reach; and the Kwarra, Kworra, or Quorra in its lower stretch.

Physical features

• Physiography

The Niger rises in Guinea at 9°05′ N and 10°47′ W on the eastern side of the Fouta Djallon (Guinea) highlands, only 150 miles (240 km) inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Issuing as the Tembi from a deep ravine 2,800 feet (850 metres) above sea level, it flows due north over the first 100 miles (160 km). It then follows a northeasterly direction, during the course of which it receives its upper tributaries—the Mafou, the Niandan, the Milo, and the Sankarani on the right and the Tinkisso on the left—and enters Mali. Just below Bamako, Mali’s capital, the Sotuba Dam marks the end of the upper river. From there the Niger once dropped more than 1,000 feet (300 metres) in about 40 miles (60 km) into a valley formed by tectonic subsidence; but the rapids in this stretch have been submerged by the waters backed up by the Markala Dam, located some 150 miles (240 km) downstream of the Sotuba Dam near Sansanding. In this stretch, at Koulikoro, the river takes a more east-northeasterly direction, and its bed becomes fairly free from impediments for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km).

Bani River: fisherman setting nets [Credit: © Index Open]At Mopti the Niger is joined by the Bani, its largest tributary on the right, after which it enters a region of lakes, creeks, and backwaters that is often called the “internal delta” of the Niger. These lakes are chiefly on the left bank and are connected to the river by channels that undergo seasonal changes in the direction of flow. At high water most of the lakes become part of a general inundation. Largest of the lakes in this region is Lake Faguibine, which is nearly 75 miles (120 km) long, 15 miles (25 km) wide, and more than 160 feet (50 metres) deep in places.

The labyrinth of lakes, creeks, and backwaters comes to an end at Kabara, the port of Timbuktu (Tombouctou). There, the river turns almost due east, passing its most northern point at latitude 17°05′ N. Some 250 miles (400 km) downstream from Timbuktu, a rocky ridge that obstructs the course of the river is pierced by a defile (narrow gorge) more than a mile long, with an average width of about 800 feet (240 metres) and a depth of more than 100 feet (30 metres) in places. At low water the strong current there endangers navigation. A short way downstream the river turns to the southeast and widens considerably, flowing to Gao across a floodplain 3 to 6 miles (5 to 10 km) wide. This most northerly bend of the Niger flows through the southern fringe of the Sahara.

The middle course of the Niger River is navigable to small craft during high water as far downstream as Ansongo—some 1,100 miles (1,770 km) in all. Below Ansongo, 430 miles (690 km) downstream from Timbuktu, navigability is interrupted by a series of defiles and rapids. The river becomes navigable to small vessels again at Labbezanga—from which it flows into Niger—and continues to be navigable to the Atlantic Ocean. Navigation is seasonal, however, because of the fluctuations in the water level in the rainy and dry seasons.

Downstream from Jebba, in Nigeria, the Niger enters its lower course, flowing east-southeast through a broad and shallow valley 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 km) wide. About 70 miles (110 km) from Jebba it is joined by the Kaduna River—an important tributary that contributes about one-fourth of the annual discharge of the river below the Niger-Kaduna confluence—and about 25 miles (40 km) above Lokoja the river turns to the south. At Lokoja the river receives the water of its greatest tributary, the Benue, thereby approximately doubling the volume of its annual discharge. At their confluence the Niger is about three-fourths of a mile (1 km) wide, and the Benue more than a mile. Together they form a lakelike stretch of water about two miles wide that is dotted with islands and sandbanks. From Lokoja downstream to the town of Idah, the Niger flows in a restricted valley, enclosed by hills and in some places flanked by sandstone cliffs up to 150 feet (45 metres) high. Between Idah and Onitsha the banks are lower and the country flatter. At Onitsha, the largest town on the Niger’s banks in Nigeria and the third largest riverine town after Bamako and Niamey (Niger), the valley narrows as the river flows through what is probably a fault in the area’s sandstone. It emerges at Aboh, separating into many branches before reaching the Gulf of Guinea via Africa’s largest delta.

The Niger delta, which stretches for nearly 150 miles (240 km) from north to south and spreads along the coast for about 200 miles (320 km), extends over an area of 14,000 square miles (36,000 square km). Within the delta the river breaks up into an intricate network of channels called rivers. The Nun River is regarded as the direct continuation of the river, but some of the other important channels include (from west to east) the Forcados, the Brass, the Sambreiro, and the Bonny. The mouths of these channels are almost all obstructed by sandbars. The Forcados, for instance, which supplanted the Nun as the most traveled channel in the early 20th century, was in turn displaced by the Escravos River in 1964. The delta is being gradually extended seaward by the increments of silt brought down by the river, and mangrove swamps extend beyond its outer edge.

The Benue (meaning “Mother of Water” in the Batta language) rises at 4,400 feet (1,350 metres) above sea level on the Adamawa Plateau in northern Cameroon at about 7°40′ N and 13°15′ E. In its upper course, which extends north-northwest to its confluence with the Mayo Kébi, close to the town of Garoua, it is a mountain torrent, falling more than 2,000 feet (600 metres) over a distance of 110 miles (180 km). The river then turns westward into Nigeria and, for the greater part of its course, flows over a broad and fertile floodplain. At Yola, a town 600 feet (180 metres) above sea level and some 850 miles (1,370 km) inland, the width of the river in flood is from 3,000 to 4,500 feet (910 to 1,370 metres). Near Numan, some 30 miles (50 km) downstream from Yola, the Benue is joined on its north bank by its most important tributary, the Gongola. Other important tributaries include the Shemankar, the Faro, the Donga, and the Katsina Ala.

Together with its tributaries, the Niger drains a total area of some 730,000 square miles (1,900,000 square km). The Niger drainage system is bounded in the south by such highlands as the Fouta Djallon, the Banfora Cliffs in Burkina Faso, the Plateau of Yorubaland, and the Cameroon highlands. This southern rampart forms a watershed separating the rivers of the Niger system from others that flow directly southward to the Atlantic Ocean. With the exception of such highlands as the Jos Plateau, the Iforas and Aïr massifs, and the Ahaggar Mountains to the north and east, the northern edge of the Niger basin is, however, less clearly defined than the southern edge.

• Climate

Within the Niger basin, climate shows great variability. Mean annual precipitation levels decrease northward from more than 160 inches (4,100 mm) in the delta area to less than 10 inches (250 mm) in Timbuktu. Both the upper and the lower stretches of the river, however, drain areas with more than 50 inches (1,300 mm) of precipitation per year. The middle Niger is an area where precipitation decreases and is also the sector where the greatest amount of evaporation takes place. It is estimated that in the lake region the Niger loses some two-thirds of the annual volume of discharge that flows past Mopti.

• Hydrology

Because of climatic variations the annual river flood does not occur at the same time in different parts of the basin. In the upper Niger the high-water discharge occurs in June, and the low-water season is in December. In the middle Niger, a first high-water discharge—the white flood (so called because of the light sediment content of the water)—occurs soon after the rainy season between July and October; a second rise—the black flood (so called because of the greater sediment content)—begins in December with the arrival of floodwaters from upstream. May and June are the low-water months in the middle stretch. On the Benue there is only one high-water season. Because of the Benue’s more southerly location, this normally occurs from May to October—earlier than on the middle Niger. The lower Niger below its confluence with the Benue consequently has a high-water period that begins in May or June—about a month earlier than on the middle Niger—and a low-water period that is at least a month shorter, as the rains in the south start earlier. In January a slight rise occurs due to the arrival of floodwaters from the upper Niger. The difference between high and low water often measures as much as 35 feet (10 metres).

• Plant and animal life

Along its course the Niger traverses virtually all the vegetational zones of western Africa. The Fouta Djallon plateau, where the Niger rises, is covered by a type of sedge vegetation consisting of fine, wirelike tufts interspersed with bare rock surfaces. From the Fouta Djallon to well below the Niger’s confluence with the Benue, the river flows mainly through savanna grassland country. In the north the grass is short and discontinuous, and thorny shrub and acacia wood occur. In the south of the grassland region, tall, tussocky grass is interspersed with fairly dense wooded vegetation. About the latitude of Onitsha, the river enters the high rainforest belt, which merges below Aboh with the mangrove swamp vegetation of the delta.

Many varieties of fish are found in the Niger and its tributaries; the chief food species are catfish, carp, and Nile perch. Other Niger fauna include hippopotamuses, at least three different types of crocodiles (including the much-feared Nile crocodile), and a variety of lizards. There is a rich collection of birds. Geese are found in the lake region, and herons, egrets, and storks are found both on the river and around the lakes. The striking crown bird is found wherever there is open ground in the grassland zone, and pelicans and flamingos are particularly associated with the upper Benue area. Smaller riverine species include white-headed plovers, crocodile birds, sandpipers, curlews, and green-red shanks.

• People and economy

Niger River [Credit: © Brian A. Vikander/West Light]The Niger valley is sparsely settled, although there are population concentrations in the lake region and near the confluence of the Niger and Benue. From the 13th to 16th century the valley was the heartland of the Mali and Songhai empires, and some of the river towns date from this period. The ethnic pattern along the course of the river includes larger groups—such as the Bambara, the Malinke, the Songhai, and the Zarma (Zerma, Djerma)—occupying both sides of the river above the Nigerian boundary, below which there are many small ethnic groups.

Fishing is an important activity along the length of the river system, especially during the dry season when the deep-sea and coastal fish catch is smallest. River fishing is a specialized occupation for certain peoples, such as the Bozo and Somono in the lake region, the Sorko on the middle Niger, the Kede and the Kakanda between Jebba and Lokoja, and the Wurbo and the Jukun on the Benue. The discovery and exploitation of petroleum in the delta region, however, has seriously disrupted fishing there; oil pollution has killed most of the fish, undermining the economy of the Ijo (Ijaw) people of the region.

• Irrigation

The irrigation of the Niger valley—for the purpose of transforming it into a densely populated, agricultural corridor running through the interior of western Africa—has long been a goal of planners. In the 1930s the French colonial administration, for example, began to plan the irrigation of large areas in the lake region; a barrage at Sansanding that raised the level of the Niger was completed in 1947. Feeder canals were constructed, and huge tracts of irrigated land now produce rice, cotton, sugarcane, and vegetables. The British colonial administration also encouraged irrigated rice cultivation in the Bida region. In Nigeria large-scale irrigation schemes have been developed since the 1960s on the Niger and some of its tributaries, notably the Sokoto, Kaduna, and Benue.

The Niger is also a source of hydroelectricity. The largest project is the Kainji Dam in Nigeria, completed in the late 1960s. A 500-square-mile (1,300-square-km) lake has been created upstream, offering opportunities for fishing and irrigation. Other projects include the Sotuba and Markala dams in Mali and dams at Jebba (on the Niger) and Shiroro (on the Kaduna tributary) in Nigeria.

• Transportation

pirogue [Credit: Jon Ward]Most of the Niger River—more than three-fourths of its total length—is used by commercial shipping. From the Atlantic Ocean to Onitsha the river is navigable by large vessels throughout the year. From Onitsha to the confluence of the Benue and the Niger large vessels can move for 10 months of the year (June–March). Navigation in this stretch is made possible by the influx of water from the Benue River, which is at its high level in June. From Lokoja to Jebba the Niger is navigable to all craft only from October to mid-November. Thus, Jebba is in effect the head of navigation of the Niger waterway, although extreme fluctuation in water level at times constitutes a major handicap to vessels plying beyond Lokoja. Above Jebba the Niger is navigable only to smaller craft and is dependent locally on periods when water levels are adequate.

Rail and road routes cross the river at many points. Railway bridges span the river at Kouroussa and Jebba, and another crosses the Benue at Makurdi. Road bridges over the Niger include those at Bamako, Niamey, Ségou, Malanville, Kainji, Jebba, Lokoja, and Onitsha and over the Benue at Makurdi, Numan, and Yola. Ferries cross the Niger at Bamako, Gao, Niamey, Yelwa, and Idah and cross the Benue at Garoua. The main river ports are Koulikoro, Timbuktu, Baro, Onitsha, Burutu, and Koko.

The coordination of multinational efforts to develop the Niger and its tributaries is the responsibility of the Niger River Commission, formed in 1963. The Commission has sponsored a study of the navigational possibilities of the middle Niger from Gao (Mali) to Yelwa (Nigeria). Moreover, in Nigeria several river basin development authorities have been established to develop more irrigation and fishing projects.

• Study and exploration

It was not until the late 18th century that Europeans made systematic attempts to find the source, direction, and outlet of the Niger. In 1795 Mungo Park, a Scottish explorer, traveled overland from the Gambia region and reached the Niger near Ségou, where in July 1796 he established that the river flowed eastward. In 1805 Park sailed more than 1,500 miles (2,400 km) down the river, seeking to reach its mouth, but he and his party were drowned in the rapids at Bussa (now covered by Lake Kainji). In 1822 another Scottish explorer, Alexander G. Laing, determined but did not visit the source of the river. In 1830 two English explorers, John and Richard Lander, established the lower course of the Niger by canoeing down the river from Yauri (now also covered by Lake Kainji), to the Atlantic Ocean, via the Nun River passage. In the second half of the 19th century two German explorers, Heinrich Barth and Eduard R. Flegel, in separate travels established the course of the Benue from its source to its confluence with the Niger.