Orashi River (also Urashi or Ulasi),
is a river of the lower
Niger River
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 near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
basin, and a tributary of
Oguta Lake, southeastern
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
Urashi takes off, 183 m above mean sea level, from the rocks in Ezeama community of
Dikenafai,
Imo State.
Described as a lifeline to
Ideato South communities, Orashi stream serves as an all purpose river for drinking, washing and many others to communities such as Umulewe, Umuchima and Ntueke in the area.
Urashi Waterfall
Urashi River takes off as a stream, from the rocks, at the base of a
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
,
183 m above mean sea level, in the Urashi enclave of Ezeama in
Dikenafai,
Imo State.
The entrance to the waterfall was around the corner from Ezeama, the Water God's altar. "It was a narrow, unassuming pathway cut into the thicket of the forest. From the pathway, one could hear the steady rush of water growing louder as one drew near. A gentle mist hung in the air; a sweet combination of salty rainwater mixed with the smell of fresh wet earth. The pathway, which was less than a quarter of a mile long, soon gave way to a clear opening and there suddenly the waterfall appeared, a breathtaking view, like a huge strike of lightning on a bright summer day", described Nema Obih.
Flow
From
Dikenafai, Urashi flows through several towns, including Urualla, Akokwa,
Okija
Okija is the largest town in Ihiala LGA of Anambra State in Southeast Nigeria. The town is the oldest of all the towns in Ihiala local government area, and one of the biggest towns in Igboland. The people of Okija are predominantly Christians. Ok ...
, Orsu,
Ukpor
Ukpor is the headquarters of Nnewi South Local Government Area in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria. Ukpor has a collection of villages, each coming from different quarters.
Ukpor is noted for its hilly topography, with one of the most notable o ...
,
Ihiala
Ihiala is a city in Nigeria, located in the southern part of Anambra State and within the region known as Igboland. It has long served as the local administrative capital of Ihiala Local Government Area. The Local Government Area has a population ...
,
Uli
Uli may refer to:
*Uli, Iran, a village
*Uli, Anambra, a town in Nigeria
* Uli I of Mali
* Uli (design), by the Igbo people of Nigeria
* Uli figure, from New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
*Uli (food), a rice-based food
* ISO 639 code for the Ulithian ...
,
Oguta
Oguta is a town on the east bank of Oguta Lake in Imo State of southeastern Nigeria.
Oguta is called "Oguta-Ameshi" or "Ameshi"- by its aborigines. Indigenes - consists of two parts, the old part which holds the 27 villages of Oguta, and the ...
,
Osemotor
Ossemotor (also Enu-Igbo) is an ancient river port and park on the bank of the lean 'finger-like' Oguta Lake in Imo State, southeastern Nigeria. Known for its rich history of commerce, Ossemotor was a strategic economic centre in the Eastern Regio ...
,
Omoku
Omoku is a town in Rivers State, Nigeria with a population of about 200,000 people. It Is located in the southern part of the state, near the boundary with Delta State and Imo State. It is the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Governme ...
, Obiakpo, Ebocha, Ukodu, Okarki, Mbiama and Epie.
The river forms tributaries along its flow, from
Imo through
Anambra
Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi Stat ...
,
Rivers to
Bayelsa
Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...
, before empting onto the Altlantic.
It splits into two at Egbema. The larger portion (right), continued the flow through Eluku before splitting further into two and emptying its waters and sediments at Edi Kalama (Degema) and
Abonnema Abonnema, originally known as Nyemoni (which means "covet your own" in the Kalabari dialect of the Ijaw language), is a large town in the Kalabari Kingdom that was founded in 1882. Its territory was discovered by an expedition of four independent c ...
into the gulf of Biafra.
Pictures of Orashi River
Orashi River in Oguta
File:Orashi River(1) at oguta.jpg, Wooden made boat and vegetation stabilized cut bank on Orashi river
File:Orashi River(6) at oguta.jpg, Residential thatched houses at the entrance of Orashi river
File:Orashi River(7) at oguta.jpg, Orashi river showing vegetation at the far side of the river bank
Orashi River in Ideato South
File:Orashi River(4) at Ideato South.jpg, Swimming and washing of clothes activities done at the river
File:Orashi River(4) at Ideato South.jpg, Other side of orashi river in Ideato south with Palm trees, bamboo tree and bushes surrounding the river
Economy
Urashi region is in the rainforest zone, southeastern Nigeria.
Crop cultivation, Oil Palm and fishing are the major occupation of the people and source of livelihood.
The zone may be termed an ‘oil palm bush.’
The forest zone is characterized by abundance of plant species, sometimes exceeding 150 different species per hectare. From its source down to the Atlantic, the river supports several fishermen and provides means of liveli-hood for their families.
Urashi Region, which includes
Njaba River
Njaba River (also Njaba), in the Niger Delta Basin is a major tributary of Oguta Lake in Nigeria's South East Imo State. With 4.5m mean depth, the river has a total stream length of 78.2 km, basin area of 145.63 square kilometers and an ave ...
basin, holds over 35% of the oil wells in the
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...
states of
Imo and
Rivers.
Trade Route and Waterway
Urashi river as an ancient trade and cultural route, has provided means of transportation and migration for indigenous communities who moved from one town to another by canoe for cultural, social or economic purposes on market days.
To improve inland
waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...
s in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, the Federal Government approved the
dredging of the Urashi River from
Oguta Lake in
Imo State to Degema in
Rivers State
Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa ...
.
The project which was awarded to Simidia S and I International Company in May 2012 was to be completed in 12 months. The 205 kilometers river was expected to be dredged with a bed width of 40 meters, top width of 70 meters and depth below dredging chart datum of 1.5 meters.
References
{{reflist
Rivers of Rivers State
Inner Niger Delta
Geography of Nigeria
Imo State
Anambra State
Waterways in Nigeria