The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea (Faranah Region) 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.
Etymology
The Niger has different names in the different languages of the region: Fula: (Maayo Jaaliba) Manding: (Jeliba) or (Joliba, "great river") Tuareg: (Eġərəw n-Igərǝwăn, "river of rivers") Songhay: "the river" Zarma: "great river" Hausa: (Kwara) Nupe: Yoruba: "named after the Yoruba goddess Ọya, who is believed to embody the river" Igbo: or "great water" Ijaw: "the river water"
The earliest use of the name "Niger" for the river is by Leo Africanus in his Description of Africa, published in Italian in 1550. Nevertheless, "Nigris" was already the name of a river in West Africa, as mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Solinus, among others. Whether this river was the same as the actual Niger, or rather the river also known as Ger (currently known as Oued Guir, in Morocco), is a matter of discussion. This Nigris was said to divide "Africa proper" from the land of the (Western) Ethiopians to the south, and its name (as well as that of the river Ger) might well come from the Berber phrase meaning "river of rivers", as the current Tuareg name for the river Niger. As Timbuktu was the southern end of the principal Trans-Saharan trade route to the western Mediterranean, it was the source of most European knowledge of the region.
Medieval European maps applied the name Niger to the middle reaches of the river in modern Mali, but Quorra (Kworra) to the lower reaches in modern Nigeria, as these were not recognized at the time as being the same river. When European colonial powers began to send ships along the west coast of Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Senegal River was often postulated to be the seaward end of the Niger. The Niger Delta, pouring into the Atlantic through mangrove swamps, and thousands of distributaries along more than , was thought to be coastal wetlands. It was only with the 18th-century visits of Mungo Park, who travelled down the Niger River and visited the great Sahelian empires of his day, that Europeans correctly identified the course of the Niger and extended the name to its entire course.
The modern nations of Nigeria, and Niger take their names from the river, marking contesting national claims by colonial powers of the "upper", "lower", and "middle" Niger river basin during the Scramble for Africa at the end of the 19th century.
Climate As part of the West Africa Sahel region, the Niger River has a hot climate characterized by very high temperatures year-round; a long intense dry season from October to May; and a brief, irregular rainy season linked to the West African monsoon.
Geography
The Niger River is a relatively clear river, carrying only a tenth as much sediment as the Nile because the Niger's headwaters lie in ancient rocks that provide little silt. Like the Nile, the Niger floods yearly; this begins in September, peaks in November, and finishes by May. An unusual feature of the river is the Inner Niger Delta, which forms where its gradient suddenly decreases. The result is a region of braided streams, marshes, and large lakes; the seasonal floods make the Delta extremely productive for both fishing and agriculture.
The river loses nearly two-thirds of its potential flow in the Inner Delta between Ségou, and Timbuktu to seepage and evaporation. The water from the Bani River, which flows into the Delta at Mopti, does not compensate for the losses. The average loss is estimated at 31 km3/year but varies considerably between years. The river is then joined by various tributaries but also loses more water to evaporation. The quantity of water entering Nigeria was estimated at 25 km3/year before the 1980s and at 13.5 km3/year during the 1980s.
The most important tributary is the Benue River which merges with the Niger at Lokoja in Nigeria. The total volume of tributaries in Nigeria is six times higher than the inflow into Nigeria, with a flow near the mouth of the river standing at 177.0 km3/year before the 1980s and 147.3 km3/year during the 1980s.
Course
The Niger takes one of the most unusual routes of any major river, a boomerang shape that baffled geographers for two centuries. Its source (Tembakounda) is 240 km (150 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river runs directly away from the sea into the Sahara Desert, then takes a sharp right turn near the ancient city of Timbuktu and heads southeast to the Gulf of Guinea. This strange geography apparently came about because the Niger River is two ancient rivers joined together. The upper Niger, from the source west of Timbuktu to the bend in the current river near Timbuktu, once emptied into a now dry lake to the east northeast of Timbuktu, while the lower Niger started to the south of Timbuktu and flowed south into the Gulf of Guinea. Over time upstream erosion by the lower Niger resulted in stream capture of the upper Niger by the lower Niger.
The northern part of the river, known as the Niger bend, is an important area because it is the major river and source of water in that part of the Sahara. This made it the focal point of trade across the western Sahara and the centre of the Sahelian kingdoms of Mali and Gao. The surrounding Niger River Basin is one of the distinct physiographic sections of the Sudan province, which in turn is part of the larger African massive physiographic division.
Drainage basin
The Niger River basin, located in western Africa, covers 7.5% of the continent and spreads over ten countries.
Niger River basin: areas and rainfall by country Country Area of the country within the basin Averagerainfallin thebasin(mm) (km2) (% of total basin) (% of country within basin)193,4498.58%2046,3842.040%1,05576,6213.428%65589,2493.919%1,33020,3390.91.6%97523,7701.07%1,46696,8804.339%1,635578,85025.547%440564,21124.845%280584,19325.763%1,185For Niger basin2,273,946100.0ns690 +Hydrometric stations on the Niger River: Station River kilometer
(rkm)Altitude (m)Basin size (km2) Multiannual average discharge Year start (m3/s) (km3)Niger Delta002,273,94619147,922.3250Lower NigerOnitsha270142,240,01919146,470.8204Lokoja480342,204,50019145,754.7182Baro600471,845,30019142,349.874Jebba810731,751,00019701,457.346Kainji Dam9001001,711,30019701,153.936Middle NigerGaya1,1201561,404,60019291,086.734Malanville1,1301571,399,23819291,086.734Niamey1,420176791,1211929893.428Ansongo1,770241647,5271949806.826Gao1,860245549,8761947875.628Timbuktu2,460256382,4691975950.730Inner DeltaDiré2,540257372,58819241,11335Mopti2,900261308,18619221,742.955Upper NigerKé Macina3,050271143,36119451,33042Ségou3,200280132,83819451,344.542Koulikoro3,440289119,02919071,35143Bamako3,500316114,80019071,371.243Siguiri3,60033767,631196791929Kouroussa3,80035718,90019502327Faranah4,0404243,196195069.52 Source:
Discharge
Average discharge of the Niger River at Niger Delta (period from 2010 to 2018): Year Average discharge km3 m3/s cfs 2010 288.1 9,130 322,410 2011 245.7 7,786 274,960 2012 320.3 10,150 358,440 2013 224.4 7,111 251,120 2014 251.2 7,960 281,110 2015 235.3 7,456 263,320 2016 286.8 9,088 320,950 2017 270.9 8,585 303,160 2018 311.6 9,874 348,700 2010–2018 270.5 8,572 302,710 +Average, minimum and maximum discharge of the Niger River at Koulikoro (Upper Niger), Niamey (Middle Niger) and Lokoja (Lower Niger). Period from 2000/06/01 to 2025/05/31. Water yearDischarge (m3/s) Koulikoro Niamey Lokoja Min Mean Max Min Mean Max Min Mean Max2000/011491,1503,86070.69421,8102,1128,50432,0802001/021401,2705,52048.98951,6802,1575,33818,8852002/031779043,12090.47961,6102,0005,29717,0122003/0492.71,2305,21021.69221,8701,5926,22519,0252004/051208763,370598901,8802,1075,68316,0982005/061211,0603,40073.98561,6601,8014,84913,7922006/071431,1113,63147.48551,7101,7815,29119,3892007/0834.29624,85433.29251,8402,2276,76719,9412008/091351,4434,837349451,8301,5356,16120,4262009/101421,3024,6602,1017,63720,5342010/111701,2603,9162,1667,22521,2722011/12929243,9128011,8355,73616,9122012/131491,1464,562731,1152,4921,7318,61231,6922013/141371,0806,2978521,5465,78316,4302014/151048633,695537521,5421,5706,35219,6642015/161291,0023,719539582,1231,7536,05427,2852016/171069745,8451,0592,5507,27220,6132017/18776772,3381078011,7912,0586,78121,0202018/19431,2567,5551,2232,0467,90025,6122019/201749334,158101,0602,6771,5948,75124,8002020/21669995,023581,4183,3982,1317,57028,0822021/22778243,2751351,1062,1212,0215,91317,6882022/23668913,851441,0741,8691,9978,28833,1362023/24557483,401448741,5952,1077,49120,5782024/25551,3316,192491,3942,4381,8267,10024,835Source: +Niger River at Lokoja average, minimum and maximum discharge (1946 to 2023): Water year Discharge (m3/s) Water year Discharge (m3/s) Min Mean Max Min MeanMax1946/477884,82416,6001985/861,1104,60115,8001947/481,0106,25821,0001986/871,2104,02711,4001948/499156,42720,9001987/881,3903,84911,8001949/508425,84919,2001988/891,0704,61515,1001950/519354,75515,0001989/901,1105,58916,3001951/521,2906,66220,4001990/911,7905,04514,8001952/532,2605,67418,3001991/921,7706,38718,4001953/541,8406,40518,5001992/931,9305,57015,3001954/552,1307,73324,9001993/941,9494,90811,8951955/562,4008,24724,6001994/951,9455,91520,4181956/571,8705,39418,1001995/961,9456,28417,7131957/581,4807,76923,6001996/972,1036,02019,9141958/592,0204,82814,7001997/982,4065,67715,5481959/601,5305,22818,3001998/992,3157,17523,4911960/611,2506,70722,2001999/002,6187,65223,0901961/629794,91215,5002000/012,1128,50432,0801962/631,1507,10124,1002001/022,1575,33818,8851963/641,7106,76420,5002002/032,0005,29717,0121964/651,1606,12820,8002003/041,5926,22519,0251965/661,3105,91418,6002004/052,1075,68316,0981966/671,3206,54520,0002005/061,8014,84913,7921967/689285,81219,7002006/071,7815,29119,3891968/691,7206,55818,8002007/082,2276,76719,9411969/701,6307,92723,5002008/091,5356,16120,4261970/711,6406,22920,1002009/102,1017,63720,5341971/721,2705,36017,6002010/112,1667,22521,2721972/731,4104,48914,4002011/121,8355,73616,9121973/748393,69812,2002012/131,7318,61231,6921974/758325,27517,1002013/141,5465,78316,4301975/761,3005,84819,6002014/151,5706,35219,6641976/771,3205,13612,0002015/161,7536,05427,2851977/781,3104,66215,5002016/172,5506,55520,6131978/791,0805,63617,0002017/182,0586,78121,0201979/801,2105,51017,8002018/192,0467,90025,6121980/811,4005,21516,7002019/201,5948,75124,8001981/821,3405,31218,4002020/212,1317,57028,0821982/831,3304,27011,6002021/222,0215,91317,6881983/848622,8779,1802022/231,9978,28833,1361984/858623,0588,4902023/242,1077,49120,578 Source:
Tributaries
The main tributaries from the mouth: Left tributary Right tributary Length (km) Basin size (km2) Average discharge