The Rio Grande de Buba, also called the Rio Buba, Rio Grande, and Grande River, is an
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
of
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
that is entirely contained within
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 ) ...
, where it empties into 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 ...
. It is about in total length and is wide at its mouth. It is an environment unique in West Africa, which has no other example of an arm of the sea extending so far inland, with a downstream depth of around , and its fauna is extremely rich and diversified.
The Grande was commercially important in the late 16th century, but this soon changed: "
Biafada
Biafada (''ga-njoola''Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.) is a Senegambian language of Guinea- ...
and
Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to:
Media
* ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957
* ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel
* ''Mandingo (play)'', a play by Jack Kir ...
traders along 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 ...
and the
Papel of Bissau greatly benefited from the precipitous decline of Grande River trade as
Bijago raiders increasingly disrupted Biafada and
lançado commerce and terrorized Biafada communities along the river."
[Brooks, ''Landlords and Strangers'', p. 272.]
References
Rivers of Guinea-Bissau
{{GuineaBissau-river-stub