The Densu River is a 116 km long river in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

rising in the

Atewa Range The Atewa Range Forest Reserve (also called the Atiwa-Atwaredu ranges) is in the Akyem Abuakwa region of southeastern Ghana, near the town of Kibi, and south-west of the Kwahu Plateau which forms the south-west boundary of Lake Volta. The range ...

. It flows through an economically important agricultural region, supplies half the drinking water to Ghana's capital city of

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, and ends in an ecologically significant

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s at the edge of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

.Ghana: Rivers and Lakes
/ref> The Densuano

Dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

and

Weija Dam Weija Dam is a dam on the Densu River which supports the main water treatment plant for Accra in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It is operated by the Ghana Water Company.This supplies about 80 percent of the potable water for the entire city ...

are situated on the Densu River.

Densu Basin

The population density of the Densu Basin is approximately 240 persons per square kilometer.

In popular culture

* Ghanaian artist Kojo Antwi named his second studio album, released in 2002, after the river. *

Osibisa Osibisa are a Ghanaian-British Afro-Rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London based Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in ...

, an

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersectin ...

band, composed a song titled Densu, explaining about the different varieties of fishes and the song the fishermen sing.

Threats

Part of the Densu River has become a dumping site by some residents in the area, aside dumping of refuse which is causing water pollution, farmers also farm close to the river, there other activities such as sand winning and quarrying activities around

References

Rivers of Ghana Ramsar sites in Ghana {{Ghana-river-stub