Niger River Fleuve Niger (Joliba, Orimiri, Isa Ber, Oya, gher n gheren) |
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Name origin: Unknown. Likely from Berber for River gher | |
Countries | Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, Nigeria |
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Tributaries | |
- left | Sokoto River, Kaduna River, Benue River |
- right | Bani River |
Cities | Tembakounda, Bamako, Timbuktu, Niamey, Lokoja, Onitsha |
Source | Guinea Highlands |
Mouth | Atlantic Ocean |
- location | Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria |
Length | 4,180 km (2,597 mi) |
Basin | 2,117,700 km2 (817,649 sq mi) |
Discharge | for Niger Delta |
- average | 5,589 m3/s (197,374 cu ft/s) |
- max | 27,600 m3/s (974,685 cu ft/s) |
- min | 500 m3/s (17,657 cu ft/s) |
The Niger River (/ˈnaɪdʒər/ NY-jər; French: (le) fleuve Niger, pronounced: [(lə) flœv niʒɛʁ]) is the principal river of western Africa, extending about 4,180 km (2,600 mi). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea. It runs in a crescent through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta or the Oil Rivers, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile and the Congo River (also known as the Zaïre River). Its main tributary is the Benue River.
The Scottish explorer Mungo Park was the first Westerner known to have travelled to the central portion of the Niger River.