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Niger River

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Coordinates: 5°19′20″N 6°28′9″E / 5.32222°N 6.46917°E / 5.32222; 6.46917
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Niger River
The Pont Kennedy across the Niger at Niamey, early 2019
Map
EtymologyUnknown (possibly from Berber for River Gher or local Tuareg word n-igereouen meaning "big rivers")[1]
Location
Countries
Cities
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationGuinea Highlands, Guinea-Conakry
 • coordinates09°05′50″N 10°40′58″W / 9.09722°N 10.68278°W / 9.09722; -10.68278
 • elevation850 m (2,790 ft)
MouthAtlantic Ocean
 • location
Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria
 • coordinates
5°19′20″N 6°28′9″E / 5.32222°N 6.46917°E / 5.32222; 6.46917
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length4,200 km (2,600 mi)[2]
Basin size2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) to 2,273,946 km2 (877,975 sq mi)[3]
Width 
 • average1.24 km (0.77 mi) to 1.73 km (1.07 mi) (Lokoja)[4]
Depth 
 • maximum37 m (121 ft) (Lokoja)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationNiger Delta[5][6]
 • average(Period: 2010–2018)270.5 km3/a (8,570 m3/s)[7]

(Period: 1971–2000)7,922.3 m3/s (279,770 cu ft/s)[8]

(6,925 m3/s (244,600 cu ft/s)[6] to 250 km3/a (1.9 cu mi/Ms)[2])
 • minimum1,200 m3/s (42,000 cu ft/s)
 • maximum35,000 m3/s (1,200,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge 
 • locationOnitsha
 • average(Period: 1971–2000)6,470.8 m3/s (228,510 cu ft/s)[8]
Discharge 
 • locationLokoja
 • average(Period: 2000/06/01–2023/05/31)6,696 m3/s (236,500 cu ft/s)[9] (Period: 1971–2000)5,754.7 m3/s (203,230 cu ft/s)[8]
 • minimum(Period: 2000/06/01–2023/05/31)1,864 m3/s (65,800 cu ft/s)[9] 500 m3/s (18,000 cu ft/s)[10]
 • maximum(Period: 2000/06/01–2023/05/31)21,800 m3/s (770,000 cu ft/s)[9] 27,600 m3/s (970,000 cu ft/s)[10] (04/10/2022: 33,136 m3/s (1,170,200 cu ft/s)[9]
Discharge 
 • locationNiamey
 • average(Period: 2000/06/01–2023/05/31)964 m3/s (34,000 cu ft/s)[9] (Period: 1971–2000)737.7 m3/s (26,050 cu ft/s)[8]
 • minimum(Period: 2000/06/01–2023/05/31)60 m3/s (2,100 cu ft/s)[9]
 • maximum(Period: 2000/06/01–2023/05/31)1,994 m3/s (70,400 cu ft/s)[9]
Discharge 
 • locationBamako
 • average(Period: 1971–2000)1,091.7 m3/s (38,550 cu ft/s)[8]
Basin features
ProgressionGulf of Guinea
River systemNiger River
Tributaries 
 • leftTinkisso, Sokoto, Kaduna, Gurara, Benue, Anambra
 • rightNiandan, Milo, Sankarani, Bani, Gorouol, Sirba, Mékrou, Alibori, Sota, Oli, Orashi, Warri

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.[11] Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border.[12][13] 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,[14] 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.

Etymology

[edit]
Commercial activity along the river front at Boubon, in Niger

The Niger has different names in the different languages of the region:

  • Fula: Maayo Jaaliba 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤴𞤮 𞤔𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭𞤦𞤢
  • Manding: Jeliba ߖߋ߬ߟߌߓߊ߬ or Joliba ߖߏ߬ߟߌߓߊ߬ "great river"
  • Tuareg: Eġərəw n-Igərǝwăn ⴴⵔⵓ ⵏ ⴴⵔⵓⵏ "river of rivers"
  • Songhay: Isa "the river"
  • Zarma: Isa Beeri "great river"[15]
  • Hausa: Kwara كوَرَ
  • Nupe: Èdù
  • Yoruba: Ọya "named after the Yoruba goddess Ọya, who is believed to embody the river"
  • Igbo: Orimiri or Orimili "great water"
  • Ijaw: Toru Beni "the river water"

The earliest use of the name "Niger" for the river is by Leo Africanus[16] in his Della descrittione dell’Africa et delle cose notabili che ivi sono, published in Italian in 1550.[citation needed] Nevertheless, "Nigris" was already the name of a river in West Africa, as mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Solinus, among others.[17] Whether this river was the same as the actual Niger, or rather the river also known as Ger (currently known as Oued Guir, in Morocco), is a matter of discussion. This Nigris was said to divide "Africa proper" from the land of the (Western) Ethiopians to the south, and its name (as well as that of the river Ger) might well come from the Berber phrase gr-n-grwn meaning "river of rivers", as the current Tuareg name for the river Niger.[18] As Timbuktu was the southern end of the principal Trans-Saharan trade route to the western Mediterranean, it was the source of most European knowledge of the region.

Medieval European maps applied the name Niger to the middle reaches of the river, in modern Mali, but Quorra (Kworra) to the lower reaches in modern Nigeria, as these were not recognized at the time as being the same river.[16] When European colonial powers began to send ships along the west coast of Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Senegal River was often postulated to be the seaward end of the Niger. The Niger Delta, pouring into the Atlantic through mangrove swamps and thousands of distributaries along more than 160 kilometres (100 mi), was thought to be coastal wetlands. It was only with the 18th-century visits of Mungo Park, who travelled down the Niger River and visited the great Sahelian empires of his day, that Europeans correctly identified the course of the Niger and extended the name to its entire course.

The modern nations of Nigeria and Niger take their names from the river, marking contesting national claims by colonial powers of the "upper", "lower" and "middle" Niger river basin during the Scramble for Africa at the end of the 19th century.

Climate

[edit]

As part of the West Africa Sahel region, Niger River has a hot climate characterized by very high temperatures year-round; a long, intense dry season from October–May; and a brief, irregular rainy season linked to the West African monsoon.[19]

Geography

[edit]
The great bend of the Niger River, seen from space, creates a green arc through the brown of the Sahel and Savanna. The green mass on the left is the Inner Niger Delta, and on the far left are tributaries of the Senegal River.
Mud houses on the center island at Lake Debo, a wide section of the Niger River

The Niger River is a relatively clear river, carrying only a tenth as much sediment as the Nile because the Niger's headwaters lie in ancient rocks that provide little silt.[20] Like the Nile, the Niger floods yearly; this begins in September, peaks in November, and finishes by May.[20] An unusual feature of the river is the Inner Niger Delta, which forms where its gradient suddenly decreases.[20] The result is a region of braided streams, marshes, and large lakes; the seasonal floods make the Delta extremely productive for both fishing and agriculture.[21]

Boy bringing back his canoe on the Niger River (2022)

The river loses nearly two-thirds of its potential flow in the Inner Delta between Ségou and Timbuktu to seepage and evaporation. The water from the Bani River, which flows into the Delta at Mopti, does not compensate for the losses. The average loss is estimated at 31 km3/year but varies considerably between years.[3] The river is then joined by various tributaries but also loses more water to evaporation. The quantity of water entering Nigeria was estimated at 25 km3/year before the 1980s and at 13.5 km3/year during the 1980s.

The most important tributary is the Benue River which merges with the Niger at Lokoja in Nigeria. The total volume of tributaries in Nigeria is six times higher than the inflow into Nigeria, with a flow near the mouth of the river standing at 177.0 km3/year before the 1980s and 147.3 km3/year during the 1980s.[3]

Course

[edit]
Map of the Niger, showing its watershed and "inland delta"

The Niger takes one of the most unusual routes of any major river, a boomerang shape that baffled geographers for two centuries. Its source (Tembakounda) is 240 km (150 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river runs directly away from the sea into the Sahara Desert, then takes a sharp right turn near the ancient city of Timbuktu and heads southeast to the Gulf of Guinea. This strange geography apparently came about because the Niger River is two ancient rivers joined together. The upper Niger, from the source west of Timbuktu to the bend in the current river near Timbuktu, once emptied into a now dry lake to the east northeast of Timbuktu, while the lower Niger started to the south of Timbuktu and flowed south into the Gulf of Guinea. Over time upstream erosion by the lower Niger resulted in stream capture of the upper Niger by the lower Niger.[22]

The northern part of the river, known as the Niger bend, is an important area because it is the major river and source of water in that part of the Sahara. This made it the focal point of trade across the western Sahara and the centre of the Sahelian kingdoms of Mali and Gao. The surrounding Niger River Basin is one of the distinct physiographic sections of the Sudan province, which in turn is part of the larger African massive physiographic division.

Drainage basin

[edit]

The Niger River basin, located in western Africa, covers 7.5% of the continent and spreads over ten countries.

Niger River basin: areas and rainfall by country[3]

Country Area of the country

within the basin

Average

rainfall

in the

basin

(mm)

(km2) (%)
Algeria Algeria 193,449 8.5 20
Benin Benin 46,384 2.0 1,055
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso 76,621 3.4 655
Cameroon Cameroon 89,249 3.9 1,330
Chad Chad 20,339 0.9 975
Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast 23,770 1.0 1,466
Guinea Guinea 96,880 4.3 1,635
Mali Mali 578,850 25.5 440
Niger Niger 564,211 24.8 280
Nigeria Nigeria 584,193 25.7 1,185
For Niger basin 2,273,946 100.0 690

Hydrometric stations on the Niger River[23][8][24][2]

Station River

kilometer

(rkm)

Altitude

(m)

Basin size

(km2)

Multiannual average discharge
Year

start

(m3/s) (km3)
Niger Delta 0 0 2,273,946 1914 7,922.3 250
Lower Niger
Onitsha 270 14 2,240,019 1914 6,470.8 204
Lokoja 480 34 2,204,500 1914 5,754.7 182
Baro 600 47 1,845,300 1914 2,349.8 74
Jebba 810 73 1,751,000 1970 1,457.3 46
Kainji Dam 900 100 1,711,300 1970 1,153.9 36
Middle Niger
Gaya 1,120 156 1,404,600 1929 1,086.7 34
Malanville 1,130 157 1,399,238 1929 1,086.7 34
Niamey 1,420 176 791,121 1929 893.4 28
Ansongo 1,770 241 647,527 1949 806.8 26
Gao 1,860 245 549,876 1947 875.6 28
Timbuktu 2,460 256 382,469 1975 950.7 30
Inner Delta
Diré 2,540 257 372,588 1924 1,113 35
Mopti 2,900 261 308,186 1922 1,742.9 55
Upper Niger
Ké Macina 3,050 271 143,361 1945 1,330 42
Ségou 3,200 280 132,838 1945 1,344.5 42
Koulikoro 3,440 289 119,029 1907 1,351 43
Bamako 3,500 316 114,800 1907 1,371.2 43
Siguiri 3,600 337 67,631 1967 919 29
Kouroussa 3,800 357 18,900 1950 232 7
Faranah 4,040 424 3,196 1950 69.5 2
River Niger at Bomadi

Discharge

[edit]

Average, minimum and maximum discharge of the Niger River at Koulikoro (Upper Niger), Niamey (Middle Niger) and Lokoja (Lower Niger). Period from 2000/06/01 to 2024/05/31.[9][25][26][27]

Water year Discharge (m3/s)
Koulikoro Niamey Lokoja
Min Mean Max Min Mean Max Min Mean Max
2000/01 149 1,150 3,860 70.6 942 1,810 2,112 8,504 32,080
2001/02 140 1,270 5,520 48.9 895 1,680 2,157 5,338 18,885
2002/03 177 904 3,120 90.4 796 1,610 2,000 5,297 17,012
2003/04 92.7 1,230 5,210 21.6 922 1,870 1,592 6,225 19,025
2004/05 120 876 3,370 59 890 1,880 2,107 5,683 16,098
2005/06 121 1,060 3,400 73.9 856 1,660 1,801 4,849 13,792
2006/07 143 1,111 3,631 47.4 855 1,710 1,781 5,291 19,389
2007/08 34.2 962 4,854 33.2 925 1,840 2,227 6,767 19,941
2008/09 135 1,443 4,837 34 945 1,830 1,535 6,161 20,426
2009/10 142 1,302 4,660 2,101 7,637 20,534
2010/11 170 1,260 3,916 2,166 7,225 21,272
2011/12 92 924 3,912 801 1,835 5,736 16,912
2012/13 149 1,146 4,562 73 1,115 2,492 1,731 8,612 31,692
2013/14 137 1,080 6,297 852 1,546 5,783 16,430
2014/15 104 863 3,695 53 752 1,542 1,570 6,352 19,664
2015/16 129 1,002 3,719 53 958 2,123 1,753 6,054 27,285
2016/17 106 974 5,845 1,059 2,550 7,272 20,613
2017/18 77 677 2,338 107 801 1,791 2,058 6,781 21,020
2018/19 43 1,256 7,555 1,223 2,046 7,900 25,612
2019/20 174 933 4,158 10 1,060 2,677 1,594 8,751 24,800
2020/21 66 999 5,023 58 1,418 3,398 2,131 7,570 28,082
2021/22 77 824 3,275 135 1,106 2,121 2,021 5,913 17,688
2022/23 66 891 3,851 44 1,074 1,869 1,997 8,288 33,136
2023/24 55 748 3,401 44 874 1,595 2,107 7,491 20,578

Average discharge of the Niger River at Niger Delta (period from 2010 to 2018):[7]

Year Average discharge
(km3) (m3/s) (cfs)
2010 288.1 9,130 322,410
2011 245.7 7,786 274,960
2012 320.3 10,150 358,440
2013 224.4 7,111 251,120
2014 251.2 7,960 281,110
2015 235.3 7,456 263,320
2016 286.8 9,088 320,950
2017 270.9 8,585 303,160
2018 311.6 9,874 348,700
2010–2018 270.5 8,572 302,710

Niger River at Lokoja

[edit]

Niger River at Lokoja average, minimum and maximum discharge (1946 to 2023):[28][9][25][26][27]

Water year Discharge (m3/s) Water year Discharge (m3/s)
Min Mean Max Min Mean Max
1946/47 788 4,824 16,600 1985/86 1,110 4,601 15,800
1947/48 1,010 6,258 21,000 1986/87 1,210 4,027 11,400
1948/49 915 6,427 20,900 1987/88 1,390 3,849 11,800
1949/50 842 5,849 19,200 1988/89 1,070 4,615 15,100
1950/51 935 4,755 15,000 1989/90 1,110 5,589 16,300
1951/52 1,290 6,662 20,400 1990/91 1,790 5,045 14,800
1952/53 2,260 5,674 18,300 1991/92 1,770 6,387 18,400
1953/54 1,840 6,405 18,500 1992/93 1,930 5,570 15,300
1954/55 2,130 7,733 24,900 1993/94 1,949 4,908 11,895
1955/56 2,400 8,247 24,600 1994/95 1,945 5,915 20,418
1956/57 1,870 5,394 18,100 1995/96 1,945 6,284 17,713
1957/58 1,480 7,769 23,600 1996/97 2,103 6,020 19,914
1958/59 2,020 4,828 14,700 1997/98 2,406 5,677 15,548
1959/60 1,530 5,228 18,300 1998/99 2,315 7,175 23,491
1960/61 1,250 6,707 22,200 1999/00 2,618 7,652 23,090
1961/62 979 4,912 15,500 2000/01 2,112 8,504 32,080
1962/63 1,150 7,101 24,100 2001/02 2,157 5,338 18,885
1963/64 1,710 6,764 20,500 2002/03 2,000 5,297 17,012
1964/65 1,160 6,128 20,800 2003/04 1,592 6,225 19,025
1965/66 1,310 5,914 18,600 2004/05 2,107 5,683 16,098
1966/67 1,320 6,545 20,000 2005/06 1,801 4,849 13,792
1967/68 928 5,812 19,700 2006/07 1,781 5,291 19,389
1968/69 1,720 6,558 18,800 2007/08 2,227 6,767 19,941
1969/70 1,630 7,927 23,500 2008/09 1,535 6,161 20,426
1970/71 1,640 6,229 20,100 2009/10 2,101 7,637 20,534
1971/72 1,270 5,360 17,600 2010/11 2,166 7,225 21,272
1972/73 1,410 4,489 14,400 2011/12 1,835 5,736 16,912
1973/74 839 3,698 12,200 2012/13 1,731 8,612 31,692
1974/75 832 5,275 17,100 2013/14 1,546 5,783 16,430
1975/76 1,300 5,848 19,600 2014/15 1,570 6,352 19,664
1976/77 1,320 5,136 12,000 2015/16 1,753 6,054 27,285
1977/78 1,310 4,662 15,500 2016/17 2,550 6,555 20,613
1978/79 1,080 5,636 17,000 2017/18 2,058 6,781 21,020
1979/80 1,210 5,510 17,800 2018/19 2,046 7,900 25,612
1980/81 1,400 5,215 16,700 2019/20 1,594 8,751 24,800
1981/82 1,340 5,312 18,400 2020/21 2,131 7,570 28,082
1982/83 1,330 4,270 11,600 2021/22 2,021 5,913 17,688
1983/84 862 2,877 9,180 2022/23 1,997 8,288 33,136
1984/85 862 3,058 8,490 2023/24 2,107 7,491 20,578


Tributaries

[edit]

The main tributaries from the mouth:

Left

tributary

Right

tributary

Length

(km)

Basin size

(km2)

Average discharge

(m3/s)

Niger Delta
Sombreiro 60 1,500 65
Warri 100 1,300 38.3
Okpare 40 1,100 73.1
Eriola 50 1,000 30.8
Ase (Asse) 180 3,500 133.6
Orashi 205 2,800 147.8
Lower Niger
Anambra 256 14,014 400.3
Otaw 40 1,100 48.9
Awele (Edien) 80 3,300 111.2
Ubo 70 1,400 25.8
Aguro 70 1,900 28.9
Oiryi (Oji) 67.72 927 15.7
Benue 1,400 338,385 3,477
Gurara 570 15,254 183.9
Epu 80 800 11.7
Etsuan 70 1,450 16.6
Kampe 175 9,560 126.5
Gbako 156 7,540 89.8
Kaduna 575 65,878 641.5
Oro 113 4,500 71
Yunko 70 1,698 15.9
Oyi 120 2,100 30.2
Oshin 125 2,132 27.5
Awun 115.5 6,300 81
Eku 90 3,230 25.3
Moshi 232.22 9,400 69.5
Oli 300 11,200 86.6
Kontagora 150 4,500 30.8
Tama 55 900 4
Menai 80 1,300 8.7
Swashi 100 1,500 10.4
Kpan 70 1,800 11.6
Malendo 220 9,127 62.9
Baduru 75 1,500 9.8
Dan Zakhi 110 3,000 26.7
Sokoto 628 193,000 294.1
Shodu 100 3,900 22.3
Dallol Maouri 250 72,551 10.5
Sota 254 13,500 50.3
Alibori 408 13,650 55.6
Diare 90 2,000 5.6
Middle Niger
Dallol Bosso 350 556,000 4.4
Mékrou 410 10,635 32.5
Tapoa 260 5,500 10.2
Diamangou 200 4,400 5.5
Goroubi 433 15.500 10.2
Sirba 439 39,138 27.2
Gorouol 250 60,842 9
Tilemsi 93,920
Inner Delta
Bani 1,100 129,400 559
Upper Niger
Sankarani 679 33,288 305.6
Fié 210 4,045 31.7
Koda (Koba) 80 4,940 7.7
Tinkisso 570 19,430 181
Milo 430 13,590 188
Niandan 300 12,930 251
Mafou 160 4,075 62.3
Niantan 60 12.1
Bale 80 31.6

[29][8]

History

[edit]
Growing African rice, Oryza glaberrima along the Niger River in Niger. The crop was first domesticated along the river.
A reconstruction of the Ravenna Cosmography placed on a Ptolemaic map. The River Ger is visible at bottom. Note it is placed, following Ptolemy, as just south of the land of the Garamantes, in modern Libya, constricting the continent to the land from the central Sahara north.
1561 map of West Africa by Girolamo Ruscelli, from Italian translation of Ptolemy's Atlas "La geografia di Claudio Tolomeo alessandrino, Nuovamente tradotta di Greco in Italiano". The writer was attempting to square information gleaned from Portuguese trade along the coast with Ptolemy's world map. The mouths of the Senegal River and Gambia River are postulated to flow into a lake, which also feeds the "Ger"/"Niger River", which in turn feeds the "Nile Lake" and Nile River.

At the end of the African humid period around 5,500 years before present, the modern Sahara Desert, once a savanna, underwent desertification. As plant species sharply declined,[30] humans migrated to the fertile Niger River bend region, with abundant resources including plants for grazing and fish.[31] Like in the Fertile Crescent, many food crops were domesticated in the Niger River region, including yams, African rice (Oryza glaberrima), and pearl millet.[32] The Sahara aridification may have triggered, or at least accelerated, these domestications.[30] Agriculture, as well as fishing and animal husbandry, led to the rise of settlements like Djenné-Djenno in the Inner Delta, now a World Heritage Site.[33]

The region of the Niger bend, in the Sahel, was a key origin and destination for trans-Saharan trade, fueling the wealth of great empires such as the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai Empires. Major trading ports along the river, including Timbuktu and Gao, became centers of learning and culture. Trade to the Niger bend region also brought Islam to the region in approximately the 14th century CE. Much of the northern Niger basin remains Muslim today, although the southern reaches of the river tend to be Christian.

Classical writings on the interior of the Sahara begin with Ptolemy, who mentions two rivers in the desert: the "Gir" (Γειρ)[34][35] and farther south, the "Nigir" (Νιγειρ).[36][37] The first has been since identified as the Wadi Ghir on the north-western edge of the Tuat, along the borders of modern Morocco and Algeria.[36][38] This would likely have been as far as Ptolemy would have had consistent records. The Ni-Ger was likely speculation, although the name stuck as that of a river south of the Mediterranean's "known world". Suetonius reports Romans traveling to the "Ger", although in reporting any river's name derived from a Berber language, in which "gher" means "watercourse", confusion could easily arise.[39] Pliny connected these two rivers as one long watercourse which flowed (via lakes and underground sections) into the Nile,[40] a notion which persisted in the Arab and European worlds – and further added the Senegal River as the "Ger" – until the 19th century.

While the true course of the Niger was presumably known to locals, it was a mystery to the outside world until the late 18th century. The connection to the Nile River was made not simply because this was then known as the great river of "Aethiopia" (by which all lands south of the desert were called by Classical writers), but because the Nile like the Niger flooded every summer. [41] Through the descriptions of Leo Africanus and even Ibn Battuta – despite his visit to the river – the myth connecting the Niger to the Nile persisted.

Many European expeditions to plot the river were unsuccessful.[42] In 1788 the African Association was formed in England to promote the exploration of Africa in the hopes of locating the Niger, and in June 1796 the Scottish explorer Mungo Park was the first European to lay eyes on the middle portion of the river since antiquity (and perhaps ever). He wrote an account in 1799, Travels in the Interior of Africa.[43] Park proposed a theory that the Niger and Congo were the same river. Although the Niger Delta would seem like an obvious candidate, it was a maze of streams and swamps that did not look like the head of a great river. He died in 1806 on a second expedition attempting to prove the Niger-Congo connection.[44] The theory became the leading one in Europe.[44] Several failed expeditions followed; however the mystery of the Niger would not be solved for another 25 years, in 1830, when Richard Lander and his brother became the first Europeans to follow the course of the Niger to the ocean.[44]

In 1946, three Frenchmen, Jean Sauvy, Pierre Ponty and movie maker Jean Rouch, former civil servants in the African French colonies, set out to travel the entire length of the river, as no one else seemed to have done previously. They travelled from the beginning of the river near Kissidougou in Guinea, walking at first till a raft could be used, then changing to various local crafts as the river broadened and changed. Two of them reached the ocean on March 25, 1947, with Ponty having left the expedition at Niamey, somewhat past the halfway mark. They carried a 16mm movie camera, the resulting footage giving Rouch his first two ethnographic documentaries: "Au pays des mages noirs", and "La chasse à l’hippopotame". A camera was used to illustrate Rouch's subsequent book "Le Niger En Pirogue" (Fernand Nathan, 1954), as well as Sauvy's "Descente du Niger" (L'Harmattan, 2001). A typewriter was brought as well, on which Ponty produced newspaper articles he mailed out whenever possible.[45]

Management and development

[edit]

The water in the Niger River basin is partially regulated through dams. In Mali the Sélingué Dam on the Sankarani River is mainly used for hydropower but also permits irrigation. Two diversion dams, one at Sotuba just downstream of Bamako, and one at Markala, just downstream of Ségou, are used to irrigate about 54,000 hectares.[3] In Nigeria the Kainji Dam, Shiroro Dam, Zungeru Dam, and Jebba Dam are used to generate hydropower.

The water resources of the Niger River are under pressure because of increased water abstraction for irrigation. The construction of dams for hydropower generation is underway or envisaged in order to alleviate chronic power shortages in the countries of the Niger basin.[46] The FAO estimates the irrigation potential of all countries in the Niger river basin at 2.8 million hectares. Only 0.93m hectares (ha) were under irrigation in the late 1980s. The irrigation potential was estimated at 1.68m ha in Nigeria 0.56m ha in Mali, and the actual irrigated area was 0.67m ha and 0.19m ha.[3]

See also

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  • Azawagh – Dry basin that once carried a northern tributary of the Niger River
  • Niger Basin Authority – Intergovernmental organization in West Africa

Notes

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  1. ^ "niger | Origin and meaning of the name niger by Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  2. ^ a b c Inger, Andersen; Ousmane, Dione; Martha, Jarosewich-Holder; Jean-Claude, Olivry; Katherin, George Golitzen (2005). The Niger River Basin - A Vision for Sustainable Management. World Bank. ISBN 9780821362037. Archived from the original on 2023-01-04. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Irrigation potential in Africa: A basin approach, The Niger Basin". www.fao.org. FAO. 1997. Archived from the original on 2017-07-21.
  4. ^ a b Muhedeen, Lawal; Kamaldeen Olakunle, Omosanya (2022). "35-years decadal changes in platform morphology of the Niger and Benue confluence, West Africa". ESS Open Archive. doi:10.1002/essoar.10512089.1.
  5. ^ "WWD Continents". www.geol.lsu.edu. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Prabhu TL (2021). "Agricultural Engineering: An Introduction To Agricultural Engineering". NestFame Creations Pvt. Ltd. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  7. ^ a b Water Accounting in the Niger River Basin. 2020. doi:10.4060/cb1274en. ISBN 978-92-5-133378-5. S2CID 242320135.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Niger". Archived from the original on 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Niger-Hycos". 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
  10. ^ a b Castano, Ing. Antonio. "A Study On The Hydrological Series Of The Niger River At Koulikoro, Niamey And Lokoja Stations". Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  11. ^ Gleick, Peter H. (2000), The World's Water, 2000-2001: The Biennial Report on Freshwater, Island Press, p. 33, ISBN 978-1-55963-792-3 – via Internet Archive
  12. ^ "Niger River". geography.name. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  13. ^ Thompson, Samuel (2005). "Niger River". In McColl, R. W. (ed.). Encyclopedia of World Geography. Facts On File, Inc. p. 665. ISBN 9780816072293.
  14. ^ "Rivers of the World: The Niger River". Radio Netherlands Archives. 2002-12-04. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  15. ^ Idrissa, Abdourahmane; Decalo, Samuel (June 1, 2012), Historical Dictionary of Niger (4th ed.), Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press, p. 274, ISBN 978-0810860940
  16. ^ a b Cana, Frank Richardson (1911). "Niger" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 676.
  17. ^ "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), NIGEIR". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  18. ^ Hunwick, John O. (2003) [1999]. Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents. Leiden: Brill. p. 275 Fn 22. ISBN 978-90-04-11207-0.
  19. ^ Kiley, Penny (2011-12-01). "Climate change, water and conflict in the Niger river basin". International Alert. Archived from the original on 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  20. ^ a b c Reader 2001, p. 191.
  21. ^ Reader 2001, pp. 191–192.
  22. ^ Tom L. McKnight; Darrel Hess (2005). "16, "The Fluvial Processes"". Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall. p. 462. ISBN 978-0-13-145139-1.
  23. ^ "GRDC". Archived from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  24. ^ "Niger River". 14 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  25. ^ a b Tommaso, Abrate; Prof. Pierre, Hubert (2007). "Essai de segmentation des sèries annuelles des dèbits du Niger aux stations de Koulikoro, Niamey at Lokoja" (PDF).[permanent dead link‍]
  26. ^ a b "AUTORITE DU BASSIN DU NIGER".
  27. ^ a b "BILAN HYDROLOGIQUE DU BASSIN DU NIGER ANNEE 2023/2024". Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  28. ^ "Liste des stations avec des mesure de type Debit et du groupe NIGERIA".[permanent dead link‍]
  29. ^ "FAO". Archived from the original on 2011-09-18. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  30. ^ a b Cubry, Philippe (2018). "The Rise and Fall of African Rice Cultivation Revealed by Analysis of 246 New Genomes". Current Biology. 28 (14): 2274–2282. Bibcode:2018CBio...28E2274C. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.066. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 29983312.
  31. ^ Mayor, Anne (2010). "Ceramic Traditions and Ethnicity in the Niger Bend, West Africa". Ethnoarchaeology. 2. University of Geneva: 5–48. doi:10.1179/eth.2010.2.1.5. ISSN 1944-2890. S2CID 128409342.
  32. ^ Scarcelli, Nora (2019). "Yam genomics supports West Africa as a major cradle of crop domestication". Science Advances. 5 (5): eaaw1947. Bibcode:2019SciA....5.1947S. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaw1947. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 6527260. PMID 31114806.
  33. ^ Mcintosh, Susan Keech; Mcintosh, Roderick J. (Oct 1979). "Initial Perspectives on Prehistoric Subsistence in the Inland Niger Delta (Mail)". World Archaeology. 11 (2 Food and Nutrition): 227–243. doi:10.1080/00438243.1979.9979762. ISSN 0043-8243. PMID 16470987.
  34. ^ Geographia, Book IV, Chapter 6, Section 13.
  35. ^ Claudii Ptolemaei (1843). Geographia (in Greek). Sumptibus et typis Caroli Tauchnitii. Book IV, Chapter 6, Section 13.
  36. ^ a b Meek, C. K. (1960). "The Niger and the Classics: The History of a Name". Journal of African History. 1 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1017/S0021853700001456. ISSN 0021-8537. JSTOR 179702. S2CID 163134704.
  37. ^ Law, R. C. C. (1967). "The Garamantes and Trans-Saharan Enterprise in Classical Times". Journal of African History. 8 (2): 181–200. doi:10.1017/S0021853700007015. ISSN 0021-8537. S2CID 165234947.. Law carefully ties together the classical sources on this, and explains the mix of third hand reports and mythology that was current in both the European and Arab worlds.
  38. ^ Bunbury, Edward Herbert; Stahl, William H. (1879). A History of Ancient Geography Among the Greeks and Romans: From the Earliest Ages Till the Fall of the Roman Empire. London: J. Murray. pp. 626–627.
  39. ^ Thomson 1948, pp. 258–259.
  40. ^ Thomson 1948, p. 258.
  41. ^ Law 1967, pp. 182–184.
  42. ^ Plumb 1952.
  43. ^ de Gramonte, Sanche (1991), The Strong Brown God: Story of the Niger River, Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 978-0-395-56756-2
  44. ^ a b c Maclachlan, T. Banks (1898). Mungo Park. Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier. pp. 130–142.
  45. ^ Baugh, Brenda, About Jean Rouch, Documentary Education Resources, archived from the original on 2009-08-20, retrieved 27 Jan 2010
  46. ^ "In the Niger Basin, Countries Collaborate on Hydropower, Irrigation and Improved Water Resource Management". World Bank. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2017-09-20.

References

[edit]
  • Gramont, Sanche de (1975), The Strong Brown God: The Story of the Niger River, Hart-Davis, ISBN 0-246-10759-6
  • Plumb, J. H. (1952). "The Niger Quest". History Today. 2 (4): 243–251.
  • Reader, John (2001), Africa, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, ISBN 978-0-620-25506-6
  • Thomson, J. Oliver (1948), History of Ancient Geography, Biblo & Tannen Publishers, ISBN 978-0-8196-0143-8
  • Welcomme, R.L. (1986), "The Niger River System", in Davies, Bryan Robert; Walker, Keith F. (eds.), The Ecology of River Systems, Springer, pp. 9–60, ISBN 978-90-6193-540-7
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International law and the Niger River

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