The river niger flows. Regime of the Niger River: characteristic features. Creation of the African Society

The famous Niger River flows in West Africa, its length is 4180 kilometers, which means that it occupies the fourteenth place in the world. In Africa, Niger is in third place after the Congo and the Nile. At the same time, the river basin has an area of ​​over two million square kilometers. In the Guinean Highlands, in the southeast of Guinea, the Niger water stream begins its journey. And its end falls in the Gulf of Guinea, in the Atlantic Ocean. Compare with .

Features of the Niger River

The waters of the Niger River are heading northeast towards the Sahara. From there, turn twenty kilometers from the ancient city of Timbuktu to the southeast. Only after such a journey does Niger rush to the Atlantic coast. According to experts, in ancient times, when there was no Sahara desert, two rivers flowed in this territory. They flowed into large lakes, near the city of Timbuktu. From where only one stream flowed, bringing water to the Gulf of Guinea. Conventionally, this place is called Lower Niger. Who knows ?

About five thousand years ago, the Sahara began to form. For this reason, the rivers with their sources disappeared. The lake itself also disappeared, however, a new river was formed, which consisted of small rivers, including reservoirs of West Africa. From here began the Lower Niger, the source of which was on the Atlantic coast. In other words, the great Sahara Desert radically changed the geographical features of Central and North Africa. In Guinea, the Niger River originates. On its territory you can see the Futa-Dzhallon plateau, which is in the province of Labe. A river is formed by the union of several streams. This river rushes along a narrow valley to the northeast, while on both sides it is sandwiched by mountains.

The valley expands again on the territory of Mali and becomes more calm and full-flowing between the cities of Segou and Ba-Mako. Further, up to Timbuktu itself, the water stream splits into several branches, its waters rush through the swampy flat region, where there are a large number of small lakes and channels. Note that it was here in ancient times that there was a lake where the northern rivers flowed.

The river once again forms one channel beyond the city of Timbuktu, and flows eastward along the southern reaches of the Sahara. The length of this route is approximately 320 kilometers. The river waters, having reached the village of Bureem, immediately turn to the southeast. Near the city of Ayora, the waters intersect with the state border, falling into Niger. By the way, the capital Niamey is located on the river, where one million sixty thousand people live. By the way, this city is spread on both banks.

A little further, the river creates a state border between Benin and Niger, and from there it heads to Nigeria. It is quite difficult to list the entire route of the Niger River, but it is truly unique. Experts have not been able to fully explain this phenomenon. However, this does not prevent travelers who crave adventure from coming here.

From dry facts, you can move on to interesting moments. The name of the river was formed from the Tuareg language and means "river" or "flowing water". One hypothesis claims that the name of the river came from the words "jägerev", translated as "river of rivers" or "great river". Also, other peoples who lived on the banks of the Niger called it that way. Of course, there are many assumptions, however, there is no exact information about where the name came from. By the way, a large number of different tribes live on the banks of the Niger, who adhere to ancient traditions and are engaged in animal husbandry.

Many hydroelectric facilities and dams were built on the river. However, only in some places of the river navigation is developed. This is especially true for the Niamey city region.

In winter, the Niger River freezes over. Various species of fish live in its waters, for this reason, fishing is well developed in this area. Mostly locals trade on: perches, carps and barbels. On the banks of the river is very diverse and beautiful vegetation. A real oasis is formed along the coast. Every year, thousands of tourists visit the Niger River. Let's just say that the journey is not easy, here, at every step, travelers are in danger.

Thanks to the summer monsoons, the Niger River replenishes its water reserves. Floods begin in June and last until September and October. The food of the river is interestingly distributed along the course. The lower and upper reaches are located in regions with a solid amount of precipitation. But in the middle reaches, a predominantly dry climate prevails. The main tributaries of the Niger are: Benue, Kaduna, Sokoto, Bani and Milo.

A large amount of oil has been discovered in the mouth delta of the river, it is under the protection of the military. Most of the locals are engaged in fishing throughout their lives. This area is very developed in this region. The West African stream is called relatively clean. Compared to the Nile, the Niger replenishes the ocean with less water. This is because of the rocks, which give a minimum of silt. It is also worth mentioning that the Niger River is of great economic importance for West Africa.

The Niger River is the most important river in West Africa. The length is 4,180 km, the basin area is 2,118 thousand km², the third in these parameters in Africa after the Nile and the Congo. It flows through the territory of Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, Nigeria. Source - Guinea Highlands, southeast of Guinea. Mouth of the Atlantic Ocean. The basin area is 2,117,700 km².
The Niger is fed by the waters of the summer monsoon rains. In the upper reaches, the flood begins in June and near Bamako reaches a maximum in September - October. In the lower reaches, the rise of water begins in June from local rains, in September it reaches its maximum. The average annual water flow of the Niger at the mouth is 8630 m³/s, the annual flow is 378 km³, the discharge during floods can reach 30-35 thousand m³/s.
Water supply along the current is not traditionally distributed. The lower and upper reaches of the river are located in places with high rainfall. but in the middle reaches of the river the climate is already dry.
The main tributaries of the Niger are the rivers Bani, Sokoto, Milo, Kaduna, Benue.
Niger also has an inland delta. The locals call her Masina. This vast area is located in the middle reaches of the river. It is a large heavily swampy floodplain valley. The river there has a large number of branches, oxbow lakes, lakes. Downstream, they merge into one channel. The delta is four hundred twenty-five kilometers long and eighty-seven kilometers wide.
So far, the origin of the name of the river has not been established. One of the versions says that the name of the river comes from the Latin word niger - “black”. But the indigenous people call the river in their own way. In the upper reaches, it has the name Joliba, in the middle - Egirreu, and in the lower reaches it is already Kvara. The Arabs also call it differently - Nil el-Abid, which means "Nile of Slaves".
According to one hypothesis, the name of the river comes in turn from the words "jaegerev n'egerev", which in Tamashek (one of the Tuareg languages) means "great river" or "river of rivers". So called Niger and other peoples who lived on its shores.
The source is in Guinea, then the river flows through Mali, Niger, along the border of Benin, then flows through Nigeria and flows into the Gulf of Guinea.
It originates under the name Joliba on the slopes of the Leono-Liberian Upland, flows into the Gulf of Guinea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean, forming a delta. Main tributaries: on the right - Milo and Bani, on the left - Sokoto, Kaduna and Benue. From the sources to about 10 ° N. sh. N. flows to the north-east. in the mountains, mostly in a narrow valley, and then goes to the plains of Sudan. From Kurusa to Bamako and below Segou the valley is wide; here the river significantly increases its water content due to the confluence of tributaries; navigable. Between the years Ke-Masina and Timbuktu N. is divided into many branches and flows in a wide, heavily swampy valley with an abundance of channels, oxbow lakes and lakes. This area is the inner delta of N.; here the river once flowed into a large drainless lake. In the Timbuktu region, the arms merge into one channel. Further, the river flows in an easterly direction for about 300 km along the southern edge of the Sahara desert, without receiving significant tributaries. From the village of Burem, the river turns to the southeast, below the city of Elva it crosses the North Guinea Upland, where it receives many small tributaries. Further, up to the mouth (about 750 km), the river flows in a wide valley, accessible for navigation. Having taken from the city of Lokoja its largest tributary - the river. Benue, N. turns into a mighty stream up to 3 km wide and up to 20 m deep and more. The N. delta (24,000 km2) begins 180 km from the ocean (near the city of Aba). In terms of length, the largest branch is Nun, for navigation they use the deeper branch of Forcados. Sea tides cover most of the delta and only 35 km do not reach its top; their height on Forcados is about 1.2 m.
The Niger River flows through five countries. The main current passes through the territory of Mali. This river is the main water artery of this state. In these arid lands, without Niger, existence would be very difficult. The local population still believes that various spirits live in the river.

The Niger River originates just east of the Kong Mountains. There, the height above sea level is eight hundred and fifty meters. First, it heads north, towards the desert, then the river turns southeast, and then south. The river flows into the Gulf of Guinea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean. A large delta with an area of ​​twenty-five thousand kilometers is formed there. This area is covered with dense thickets and marshy.
In the upper reaches of the Niger, rapids often come across, and already in the middle reaches it has the calm character of a flat river.
In the place where the Niger merges with the tributary of the Bani, there was once a large closed lake. But today this lake is formed only during the wet season, when there is a lot of precipitation. During a flood, the total area of ​​the delta can increase from four to twenty thousand square kilometers.
Niger is rich in fish. Carp, perch, barbel and other fish species live in the river. In the countries where the Niger flows, fishing is very developed. Fishing is often the only source of subsistence for the local population.
There is a large amount of oil in the mouth of the Niger Delta. The wise use of oil resources could help the local population out of poverty. But due to environmental pollution by oil and products of its processing, the situation is only getting worse.

The well-known Niger River is the most important river in Western. The length is 4180 km, the basin area is 2118 thousand km², the third in these parameters in Africa after and. The exact origin of the name of the river is unknown and in our time there is a dispute among scientists. ( 11 photos)

2. The river receives its main water from the summer monsoon rains. The average annual water flow of the Niger at the mouth is 8630 m³/s, the annual flow is 378 km³, the discharge during floods can reach 30-35 thousand m³/s. But there are also tributaries, here are the five main ones - Milo (right), Bani (right), Sokoto (left), Kaduna (left), Benue (left).

5. It is believed that the name of the river came from the Tuareg nehier-ren- "river, flowing water." According to one hypothesis, the name of the river comes in turn from the words "jaegerev n'egerev", which in Tamashek (one of the Tuareg languages) means "great river" or "river of rivers". So called Niger and some other peoples who lived on its shores. There are many different hypotheses, but it is not known for certain where the river takes its name from.

7. In 1805, a Scottish doctor, Mungo Park, visited the Niger for the second time and explored its course from Bamako to Bussang, where he was killed by local natives.

The Niger is the most important river in West Africa. The length is 4180 km, the basin area is 2,117,700 km², the third in Africa after the Nile and the Congo in terms of these parameters. The source of the river is located on the slopes of the Leono-Liberian Upland in southeastern Guinea. The river flows through the territory of Mali, Niger, along the border with Benin, and then through the territory of Nigeria. It flows into the Gulf of Guinea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean, forming a delta in the confluence area. The largest tributary of the Niger is the Benue River. The exact origin of the name of the river is unknown, and among researchers there has long been a dispute on this matter. Popular is the opinion that the name of the river comes from the Tuareg nehier-ren - "river, flowing water." According to one hypothesis, the name of the river comes in turn from the words "jaegerev n'egerev", which in Tamashek (one of the Tuareg languages) means "great river" or "river of rivers". So called Niger and some other peoples who lived on its shores.

There is also a hypothesis according to which the Latin word niger, that is, "black", is a derivative of the name of the river. Such a hypothesis admits that historically the words "Niger" and "Negro" have the same root, since the latter also comes from the word "black".
The natives, living near the coast, in some sections of the course call the river differently: Joliba (in the Mandingo language - “big river”), Mayo, Eghirreu, Izo, Quorra (Kuarra, Kovara), Baki-n-ruu, etc. etc., but at the same time, the vast majority of these names in translation mean "river".

Hydrography

The source is located on the slopes of the Leono-Liberian Upland in southeastern Guinea. In the upper course, the river is called Dzholiba. The river flows northeast, crossing the border with Mali. In the upper and lower reaches of the Niger there are rapids, flowing mainly in a narrow valley. In the middle reaches of the Niger, it has the character of a flat river. From the Guinean city of Kurusa to the Malian capital of Bamako, and also below the city of Segou, the Niger flows through a wide valley and is navigable. Below the Malian city of Ke Masina, the Niger divides into several branches, forming an inland delta. In the Inner Delta region, the Niger Valley is heavily swamped. Previously, in this place, the Niger flowed into an endorheic lake. In the Timbuktu region, numerous branches merge into one channel. The river then flows east along the southern border of the Sahara for 300 km. Near the town of Burem, the Niger turns to the southeast and flows in a wide valley to the very mouth, navigable. The river flows through the territory of Niger, where there are numerous dry riverbeds (wadis) that once flowed into Niger, along the border of Benin, then flows through Nigeria and flows into the Gulf of Guinea, forming a vast delta with an area of ​​24 thousand km². The longest arm of the delta is the Nun, but the deeper Forcados arm is used for navigation.
Major tributaries of the Niger: Milo, Bani (right); Sokoto, Kaduna and Benue (left).
The Niger is a relatively “clean” river, compared to the Nile, the turbidity of its water is about ten times less. This is due to the fact that the upper reaches of the Niger pass through rocky terrain and do not carry much silt. Like the Nile, the Niger floods every year. It starts in September, peaks in November, and finishes by May.
An unusual feature of the river is the so-called Inner Niger Delta, formed at the site of a strong decrease in the longitudinal channel slope. The area is an area of ​​multi-channel channel, marches and lakes the size of Belgium. It has a length of 425 km with an average width of 87 km. Seasonal floods make the inland delta extremely favorable for fishing and agriculture.
Niger loses approximately two-thirds of its flow in the section of the inner delta between Segou and Timbuktu due to evaporation and seepage.
Even the waters of the Bani River flowing into the delta near the city of Mopti are not enough to compensate for these losses. Average losses are estimated at 31 km³/year (which varies greatly from year to year). After the inner delta, many tributaries flow into the Niger, but evaporative losses are still very large. The volume of water entering Nigeria in the Yola region was estimated at 25 km3/year before the 1980s and 13.5 km3/year during the eighties. The most important tributary of the Niger is the Benue, which merges with it at Lokoji. The volume of inflows into Nigeria is six times greater than the volume of Niger itself when it enters the country. By the Niger Delta, the discharge of Niger increases to 177 km3 / year (data until the 1980s, during the eighties - 147.3 km3 / year.

History of the Niger River

In the Middle Ages, Arab geographers believed that the Niger was connected to the Nile. The beginning of this idea was laid by Greek geographers - according to Herodotus, for example, Nager was the source of the Nile, flowing down from the Atlas. One of the first to challenge this opinion in his work "Travels in Africa" ​​(1799) was W. G. Brown. In 1796, a young Scottish doctor, Mungo Park, was the first European to reach Niger. The park found that the Niger flows to the east and has nothing to do with either Senegal or the Gambia - earlier Europeans believed that the Niger was divided into these two rivers. M. Park was going to find out where the actual current of the Niger was directed, but due to tropical fever he was forced to turn back. In 1805, he again visited the Niger and explored its course from Bamako to Bussang, where he was killed by the locals. At that time, nothing was known about the lower course of the Niger, but it was believed that it flows into the Gulf of Guinea. This opinion was confirmed by the voyages of Dixon Denham and Hugh Clapperton in 1825 and Clapperton's second voyage in 1827. In the late 1920s, the French traveler Rene Calle visited Timbuktu, posing as an Arab merchant. In 1830, the British government sent Richard Lander (English) Russian, Clapperton's companion on a previous journey, to the banks of the Niger, to more carefully study the course of the river, Lander, with his brother (English) Russian, reached Bussang by land, descended from there downstream and, having sailed a path of 900 km, reached the Gulf of Guinea. In 1832, Lander entered the Niger through the Bay of Benin and sailed up the river; the same journey, at the same time, was made by Laird (English) Russian. and Oldfield, of which the latter sailed to Rabbi, 750 km from the mouth. Bikes (English) Russian, together with English naval officers, explored in 1857-64 the lower reaches of the Niger to Rabba and founded missions and trading stations along its banks. The middle course of the river, from Timbuktu to Sai, was explored by Barth in 1854. The course of the Niger between the mouth of the Benue and the Rabbah was explored by Ralph in 1867, but as early as 1832 Lang almost reached the headwaters of the Niger, the main springs of which, Thembi, were discovered by Mustier and Zweiffel in 1879. An exact study of the course of the Niger between Gammaki and Timbuktu, with its mapping, was made by the French officer Caron in 1887.
In the 19th century, the French established themselves in the upper part of the middle reaches of the Niger, near Timbuktu. Trade from here was directed to the west, that is, to the lower reaches of the Senegal River. Meanwhile, in the lower reaches of the Niger, European trading posts had long existed - in the 80s of the 19th century, the British bought French trading posts.
On October 24, 1946, three Frenchmen, Jean Sauvy, Pierre Ponty and film director Jean Rouch, all former employees in the African
French colonies, decided to make a trip along the entire length of the river, which, most likely, no one had ever done before them. They began their journey from the very source of the Niger in the region of Kisidougou, Guinea-Bissau, at first on foot, as conditions did not allow the use of a raft. They then traveled in a wide variety of watercraft as the river widened and deepened. Pierre Ponty stopped the journey at Niamey and two others reached the ocean on 25 March 1947. They filmed their journey with a 16mm camera, from which Jean Rouch edited his first two ethnographic documentaries: "Au pays des mages noirs" and "La chasse à l'hippopotame". The film served as an illustration for Rusch's later published book, Le Niger En Pirogue (1954), as well as Descente du Niger (2001). Pierre Ponty also carried a typewriter with him and sent articles to newspapers along the way.
In 2005, Norwegian traveler Helge Hjelland undertook another expedition along the length of the Niger, starting in Guinea-Bissau in 2005. He also made a documentary about his journey called The Cruellest Journey.

bend in the river

The Niger has one of the most unusual channel plans among major rivers. Like a boomerang, this direction has baffled European geographers for almost two millennia. The source of the Niger is located only 240 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river begins its course in the opposite direction, into the Sahara, after which it turns sharply to the right near the ancient city of Timbuktu and flows southeast to the Gulf of Guinea. The ancient Romans thought that the river near Timbuktu was part of the Nile, as Pliny thought, for example. Ibn Battuta also held the same point of view. The first European explorers believed that the upper Niger flows west and joins the Senegal River.
Such a very unusual direction arose, probably due to the unification of two rivers into one in ancient times. The upper Niger, beginning west of Timbuktu, ended approximately at the bend of the modern river, emptying into a now defunct lake, while the lower Niger began from the hills near that lake and flowed south into the Gulf of Guinea. After the development of the Sahara in 4000-1000. BC e., two rivers changed their directions and merged into one as a result of interception (eng. Stream capture).

River transport

In September 2009, the Nigerian government allocated 36 billion naira to dredging the Niger from Baro
(Eng. Baro (Nigeria)) to Warri in order to clean the bottom of silt. Dredging was intended to facilitate the transportation of goods to settlements located far from the Atlantic Ocean. Similar work was supposed to be carried out several decades ago, but they were postponed. Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua noted that the project will enable year-round navigation in Niger and expressed his hope that Nigeria will become one of the twenty most industrialized countries in the world by 2020. Alhayi Ibrahim Bio, Nigeria's transport minister, said the ministry would do its best to complete the project within the allotted time frame. Concerns have been raised that such work may have a negative impact on the villages located in the coastal zones. At the end of March 2010, the Niger dredging project was 50% complete.

Information

• Length: 4180 km
• Swimming pool: 2,117,700 km²
• Water consumption: 8630 m³/s (mouth)
• mouth: Gulf of Guinea

A source. wikipedia.org

• Benue
  River in West Africa (Cameroon, Nigeria). The largest left tributary of the Niger River. Length 1400 km (according to other sources 960 km). The basin area is 441 thousand km². Average consumption 3170 m³/sec. Navigable from the city of Ibi (during the rainy season from the city of Garva). By its nature, it is a flat river flowing in a wide valley. It flows through densely populated areas of humid savannas.
• Weme
  River in West Africa. For a considerable length, it forms a natural border between the states of Benin and Nigeria. The length of the river is 480 km. The area of ​​the river basin is 46990 km². The average annual water consumption is 170 m³/s.
• Kaduna
  A river in Nigeria, a left tributary of the Niger. The total length of the river is about 550 km. The river got its name from the crocodiles that lived in the area of ​​the river. Kaduna in the Hausa language means "crocodiles, crocodile place".
• Komadogu-Yobe
  A river in Nigeria and Niger that flows into the endorheic Lake Chad. The source will come in handy on the territory of Nigeria, the lower course is a natural border between Nigeria and Niger.
• Cross
  A river in West Africa, originating in Cameroon, flows through the department of Manyu west to Nigeria. Turning south and separating the Nigerian state, the Cross River from the more western Ebony and Akwa Ibom flows into the Gulf of Guinea. One of the main peoples inhabiting the banks of the Cross River is the Efik.
• Niger
  The most important river in West Africa. The length is 4180 km, the basin area is 2,117,700 km², the third in Africa after the Nile and the Congo in terms of these parameters. The source of the river is located on the slopes of the Leono-Liberian Upland in southeastern Guinea. The river flows through the territory of Mali, Niger, along the border with Benin, and then through the territory of Nigeria. It flows into the Gulf of Guinea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean, forming a delta in the confluence area. The largest tributary of the Niger is the Benue River.
• Nun
  The river is the longest branch of the Niger and is therefore considered the main continuation of the Niger, unlike other branches: Forcados, Brass, Bonnie and Sombrerio. Nun crosses the Niger Delta from north to south through Bayelsa State. The river originates about 32 km south of the city of Abo, where the Niger splits into Nun and Forcados. It flows through sparsely populated swampy areas and mangroves, flows into the Gulf of Guinea at the Akassa settlement. The length of the river is approximately 160 km.
• Sokoto
  A river flowing in northwest Nigeria. The source of the river is located in Funtua County, Katsina State. The river flows through four states: Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi. Along the banks of the river, locals grow cotton, tobacco, peanuts, sugarcane, rice and other crops. Developed irrigation system.
• Forcados
  The Forcados River is one of the branches of the Niger, used for navigation since the beginning of the 20th century. Forcados crosses the Niger Delta from north to south through Rivers State. Its source is considered to be the bifurcation of Niger into Nun and Forcados, 32 km south of the village of Aboh. Forcados, flowing through sparsely populated swampy areas and mangroves, flows into the Atlantic Ocean west of the Bay of Benin. The length of the river is approximately 198 km. The tributaries of Forcados are the rivers Ase and Varri (right tributaries).