Lets visit River Niger
Rivers are great phenomena that have brought so much influence in human life, the first exploration use traces of river to discover Gods signs and ourselves, it is not easy task as embankment leave with question on who we would meet. But never the, we will always meet the same kind of people everywhere -people working to create positive change in their lives and in their communities. A person that explore with eyes wide open will find every steps as an inspiration. Most people are born as open-hearted and courageous people, but only lack negative changes that catalyze their life towards better living.
The Niger River, also known as the pulse of West Africa, a great river of West Africa which is home to many people who rely on it and its surrounding land for their livelihoods, the source of river Niger is assumed, Mongo Park was one of the pioneer explorer that was keen to know the source of Niger who unfortunately die in it. By means of its tributary the Benue, affords a waterway uninterrupted by rapids, and available for shallow-draught steamers, to the far interior. Rising within 150 m. of the sea in the mountainous zone, which marks the N.E. frontiers of Sierra Leone and French Guinea, it traverses the interior plateaus in a vast curve, flowing N.E., E. and S.E. until it finally enters the Gulf of Guinea through an immense delta. Its total length is about 2600 m. About 250 m. from its mouth it is joined by the Benue, coming from the east from the mountainous region of Adamawa. From its mouth to the limit of navigability from the sea the river is in English speaking African territory above that point it flows through French speaking African territory.
The source of the Niger lies in 9 5' N. and 10 47' W., and the most northerly point of the great bend is about 17 N. The area of the Niger basin, excluding the arid regions with a slope towards the stream, has 584,000 sq. m. The stream considered the chief source of the Niger is called the Tembi. A narrow watershed separates it from the headwaters of the streams flowing southwest through Sierra Leone. Taking at his point a decided trend northward, the Niger, loom, lower down, at Bamako the first considerable town on its banks has a depth of 6 ft. with a breadth of 1300 ft. From this point the navigable portion of the Niger begins.
At Tosaye, just before the bend becomes pronounced, the Baror and Chabar rocks reduce the width of the river to less than 500 ft., and at low water the strength of the current is a serious danger to navigation. In places the desert approaches close to the river on both banks and immense sand dunes fill the horizon. Throughout this distance the river is a hopeless labyrinth of rocks, islands, reefs and rapids. From Say, where the stream is about 700 yds in breadth, to Bussa, there is another navigable stretch of water extending 300 m. After the desert region is past the Niger receives the waters of the river Sokoto, a considerable stream flowing from the northeast. Some distance below this confluence is the Bussa rapids, which can only be navigated with considerable difficulty.
Now let’s look at Wikipedia description of the Niger River.
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending over 2500 miles (about 4000 km). It runs in a crescent through Guinea, Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Oil Rivers, into the Gulf of Guinea. 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 origin of the name Niger is unknown. It is often assumed that it derives from the Latin word for "black", niger, but there is no evidence for this, and it would have been more likely for Portuguese explorers to have used their own word, negro, or preto as they did elsewhere in the world. In any case the Niger is not a blackwater river (see Rio Negro).
Geography
The Niger River is a relatively "clear" river, carrying only a tenth as much sediment as the Nile because the Niger's headlands are located in ancient rocks that provide little silt.[1] Like the Nile, the Niger floods yearly; this begins in September, peaks in November, and finishes by May.[2]An unusual feature of the river is the Niger Inland Delta, which forms where its gradient suddenly decreases.[3] The result is a region of braided streams, marshes, and lakes the size of Belgium; the seasonal floods make the Delta extremely productive for both fishing and agriculture.[4]
The Niger takes one of the most unusual routes of any major river, a boomerang shape that baffled European geographers for two millennia. Its source is just 150 miles (240 km) inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river runs away from the sea into the Sahara Desert, then takes a sharp right turn and heads southeast to the Gulf of Guinea.Ancient Romans thought that the river near Timbuktu was part of the Nile River (e.g., Pliny, N.H. 5.10), a belief also held by Ibn Battuta, while early 17th-century European explorers thought that it flowed west and joined the Senegal River. The true course was probably known to many locals, but Westerners only established it in the late 19th century.
This strange geography apparently came about because the Niger River is two ancient rivers joined together. The upper Niger, from the source past the fabled trading city of Timbuktu to the bend in the current river, once emptied into a now-gone lake, while the lower Niger started in hills near that lake and flowed south into the Gulf of Guinea. As the Sahara dried up in 4000-1000 BC, the two rivers altered their courses and hooked up. (This explanation is generally accepted, although some geographers disagree.)The northern part of the river, known as the Niger bend, is an important area because it is the closest major river and source of water to the Sahara desert. This made it the focal point of trade across the Western Sahara, and the centre of the Sahelian kingdoms of Mali and Gao.
DATAS
Land cover information
Percent Forest Cover: 0.9
Percent Grassland, Savanna and Shrubland: 68.6
Percent Wetlands: 4.1
Percent Cropland: 4.4
Percent Irrigated Cropland: 0.1
Percent Dryland Area: 71.1
Percent Urban and Industrial Area: 0.5
Percent Loss of Original Forest Cover: 95.9
Basin information
Basin Area (sq. km.): 2,261,741
Average Population Density (people per sq. km.):31
Number of Large Cities (>100,000 people): 12
Water Supply per Person (1995) (m3/person/year): 4,076
Degree of river fragmentation: High
Number of Dams (>15m high) in Basin: 30
Number of Dams (>150m high) in Basin: 0
Number of Dams (>60m high) under Construction: 1
Number of Dams (>15m high) on Main Stem of River: 3
Number of Dams (>150m high) on Main Stem of River: 0
Number of Dams (>15m high) in Basin: 30
Number of Dams (>150m high) in Basin: 0
Number of Dams (>60m high) under Construction: 1
Number of Dams (>15m high) on Main Stem of River: 3
Number of Dams (>150m high) on Main Stem of River: 0
Bio-diversification information
Number of Fish Species: 164
Number of Fish Endemics: 13
Number of Amphibian Species: 133
Number of Ramsar Sites: 15
Number of Wetland-Dependent IBAs: 20
Number of Endemic Bird Areas: 3
Percent Protected Area: 4.9
Source: http://www.waterandnature.org/eatlas/html/af14.html
Fiction on Niger:
The downstream stretch served as the setting for Clive Cussler's novel Sahara, and the 2005 film Sahara.
The river serves as the backdrop for much of T. Coraghessan Boyle's novel Water Music.
My question people around rivers suppose are without doubt that , surrounded by vast resources, but , in reality they are more impoverish people, what do u think the problem is ? Is it technology; is resources mismanagement, under exploration? Do you have river in your areas? how is community benefiting from it ? Let’s hear your view
oladok12@yahoo.com
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