Niger River

The Niger is a major West African river flowing through Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, and Nigeria before reaching the Gulf of Guinea. Its great bend across Mali supports the Inner Niger Delta and connects the Sahel with the Atlantic coast.

Inner Niger Delta: A vast inland floodplain in central Mali formed where the Niger River spreads across a low-lying basin. Annual flooding creates wetlands and grazing grounds far inland from the river’s mouth.
Niger River transport: The movement of people and goods by boat along navigable reaches of the Niger River. River transport links communities where roads are limited, especially in Mali.
Mungo Park: A Scottish explorer who traveled to the Niger River in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His journeys helped establish the river’s course for European mapmakers.
Climate change in the Niger basin: Long-term changes in temperature and rainfall affecting the Niger River basin and its water systems. Rainfall shifts can alter floods, drought risk, and water availability across the basin.
Niger Delta: A large network of distributaries and wetlands where the Niger River meets the Gulf of Guinea. The river ends in this coastal delta after crossing southern Nigeria.
Irrigation in the Niger basin: The use of river water to supply crops in the Niger River basin. Irrigation projects divert water for farming, including rice cultivation in Mali.
Leo Africanus: A sixteenth-century North African writer whose account described West African geography and societies. His writings preserved early descriptions associated with the Niger and its regions.
Niger River pollution: The contamination of Niger River waters by waste, agricultural runoff, and industrial activity. Pollution threatens drinking water, fisheries, and communities along the river.
Niger River basin: The land area drained by the Niger River and its tributaries. Rainfall and tributaries across this basin determine the river’s flow.
Kainji Dam: A hydroelectric dam on the Niger River in western Nigeria, completed in 1968. It stores river water and generates electricity downstream of the river’s Sahelian course.

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