Niger 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 |
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| Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Guinea Highlands, Guinea-Conakry |
| • coordinates | 09°05′50″N 10°40′58″W / 9.09722°N 10.68278°W |
| • elevation | 850 m (2,790 ft) |
| Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
• location | Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria |
• coordinates | 5°19′20″N 6°28′9″E / 5.32222°N 6.46917°E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 4,200 km (2,600 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,117,700–2,273,946 km2 (817,649–877,975 mi2) |
| 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 | (Period: 2010–2018)270.5 km3/a (8,570 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 3,931 m3/s (138,800 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 15,200 m3/s (540,000 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Onitsha |
| • average | (Period: 1971–2000)6,470.8 m3/s (228,510 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Lokoja |
| • average | (Period: 2000–2025)6,743.2 m3/s (238,130 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 1,934 m3/s (68,300 cu ft/s) (minimum record in 1916: 500 m³/s) |
| • maximum | 21,872 m3/s (772,400 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Niamey |
| • average | (Period: 2000–2025)978.8 m3/s (34,570 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 58.2 m3/s (2,060 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 1,996.6 m3/s (70,510 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Bamako |
| • average | (Period: 1971–2000)1,091.7 m3/s (38,550 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Gulf of Guinea |
| River system | Niger River |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Tinkisso, Sokoto, Kaduna, Gurara, Benue, Anambra |
| • right | Niandan, 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. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through southwest Mali and through southwest 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 14th-longest river in the world and the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile and the Congo River. Its main tributary is the Benue River.