15 Facts About Niger River

The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile and the Congo River.

Niger River has different names in the different languages of the region:.

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 River Delta, pouring into the Atlantic through mangrove swamps and thousands of distributaries along more than 160 kilometres, was thought to be coastal wetlands.

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.

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Niger River loses nearly two-thirds of its potential flow in the Inner Delta between Segou and Timbuktu to seepage and evaporation.

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.

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.

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.

Region of the Niger River bend, in the Sahel, was a key origin and destination for trans-Saharan trade, fueling the wealth of great empires such as the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai Empires.

Much of the northern Niger basin remains Muslim today, although the southern reaches of the river tend to be Christian.

Niger River wrote an account in 1799, Travels in the Interior of Africa.

Niger River died in 1806 on a second expedition attempting to prove the Niger-Congo connection.

In Mali the Selingue Dam on the Sankarani Niger River is mainly used for hydropower but permits irrigation.

Water resources of the Niger River are under pressure because of increased water abstraction for irrigation.