Prelims ask
Fouta Djallon, great bend, Gulf of Guinea, Benue, Nigeria delta.
Africa
Niger
Longest river in West Africa.
- Source
- Guinea Highlands (Fouta Djallon).
- Countries
- Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin (border) and Nigeria.
- Direction
- Northeast into the Sahara margin, then southeast. The great bend.
- Mouth
- Gulf of Guinea, Atlantic.
- Length
- About 4,200 km.
- Major tributaries
- Benue, from the Cameroon highlands, is the chief tributary. Bani joins in Mali.
- Delta or estuary
- Large coastal delta in Nigeria, plus an inland delta in Mali.
- Basin
- The Nigerian delta is an oil province. The inland delta is a wetland, not a coast.
- One exam fact
- The source is not far from the Atlantic, but the river flows away from it before turning.
Mains use
A river whose course records a dry-margin inland delta and a wet coastal delta on one system.