river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
of
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
also known as the Farim along its upper course. Its total length is about 257 km. One of its major
tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...
Its headwaters are near the northern border of the country, north of
Contuboel Contuboel is a sector in the Bafata Region of Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of ...
and close to a bend of the
Geba River
The Geba is a river of West Africa that rises in the northernmost area of Guinea in the Fouta Djallon highlands, passes through southern Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau. It is about in total length.
In Senegal, the r ...
. It runs west, by the town of
Farim
Farim is a town of northern Guinea-Bissau. It sits on the north bank of the Farim/Cacheu River, about 215 km (135 miles) up the river from Cacheu. Population 8,661 (2009 census).Bigenè, and broadens into an estuary on whose south shore the town of Cacheu may be found.
Elia Island
Elia Island ( pt, Ilha de Elia) is an island in Guinea-Bissau. It is located on the right bank of the Cacheu River close to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean. The islands's western end lies east of the confluence with the Elia River with Ongueringa ...
is a fairly large island located on the right bank of the river close to its mouth. The island's western end lies east of the confluence with the
Elia River
Elia is a name which may be a variant of the names Elias, Elijah, Eli or Eliahu, and may refer to:
People
* Aelia (gens) or Elia, a ''gens'' of Ancient Rome
Mononymic
* Elia or Elijah, a biblical prophet
* Elia, a pen-name of Charles Lamb
First ...
with Ongueringao Island on the other bank.
The Cacheu is navigable to large (2,000-ton) ships for about 97 km in, and to smaller vessels much further; it was formerly an important route for commerce.
History
During the
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...
, the
Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence (), or the Bissau-Guinean War of Independence, was an armed independence conflict that took place in Portuguese Guinea from 1963 to 1974. It was fought between Portugal and the African Party for the Independ ...