The Saloum River rises about 105 kilometers east of

Kaolack Kaolack ( ar, كاولاك; wo, Kawlax) is a town of 172,305 people (2002 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River and the N1 road in Senegal. It is the capital of the Kaolack Region, which borders The Gambia to the south. Kaolack is an ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, and flows 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 ...

. The significant

Saloum Delta Saloum Delta or Sine-Saloum Delta is a river delta in Senegal at the mouth of the Saloum River where it flows into the North Atlantic Ocean. The delta covers 180,000 hectares. It extends 72.5 kilometers along the coastline and 35 kilometers inland. ...

is located at its mouth, which is protected as

Saloum Delta National Park Saloum Delta National Park or Parc National du Delta du Saloum in Senegal, is a national park. Established in 1976, it is situated within the Saloum Delta at the juncture of the Saloum River and the North Atlantic. The park, which forms part of ...

. The river basin lies within the Serer pre-colonial

Kingdom of Saloum The Kingdom of Saloum (Serer language: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer/Wolof kingdom in present-day Senegal. Its kings may have been of Mandinka/ Kaabu origin. The capital of Saloum was the city of Kahone. It was a sister kingdom of Sin ...

Mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

forests occupy a 5-kilometer belt on either side of the river almost 70 kilometers upstream.

References

A Directory of African Wetlands
Robert Mepham, R. H. Hughes, G. M. Bernacsek, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 1992. Rivers of Senegal Serer country {{Senegal-river-stub

See also

References