![Côte d'Ivoire map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire_map.png)
The Sassandra River is a river of western
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
in
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 ...
. It is formed by the confluence of the
Tienba River, which originates in the highlands of northwestern Côte d'Ivoire, and the
Gouan River (also known as the Bafing Sud River), which originates to the west in the highlands of
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
. The Sassandra flows south-southeast to empty into the
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...
on 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
Buyo Dam was constructed across the middle stretch of the river in 1980, just below the confluence with the
Nzo River Nzo or NZO may refer to:
* nZo, an American rapper and professional wrestler formerly known as Enzo Amore
* Nzo Ekangaki (1934–2005), a Cameroonian political figure
* New Zealand Opera, a professional opera company
* the New Zionist Organization ...
, to create the reservoir called
Lake Buyo
Lake Buyo (french: Lac de Buyo) is an artificial lake in western Côte d'Ivoire on the Sassandra River. It was formed by the construction of the Buyo Dam at Buyo in 1980.
The water quality of the lake has suffered from disposal of untreated ...
. The
Davo River joins the Sassandra just before it meets the sea. The
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
town of
Sassandra
Sassandra is a town in southern Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Sassandra Department. It is also a commune and the seat of Gbôklé Region in Bas-Sassandra District.
Sassandra lies on the Gulf of Guinea at the mouth of th ...
lies on the seacoast where the river meets the sea.
The Sassandra and its tributaries flow through terrestrial
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
s. The northern, or upper, part of the watershed lies in the
Guinean forest-savanna mosaic
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
ecoregion. Further south, it forms the boundary between two
tropical moist forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Description
TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...
ecoregions, the
Western Guinean lowland forests
The Western Guinean lowland forests ecoregion (WWF #AT0130) is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. It is centered on Liberia, with portions in surrounding countries. It is the westernmost tropical rainforest in Africa, an ...
and the
Eastern Guinean forests
The Eastern Guinean forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa.
Geography
The ecoregion includes the lowland forests extending from the Gulf of Guinea a few hundred kilometres inland, from western Côte d'Ivoire to ...
.
["Western Guinean lowland forests." World Wildlife Fund. Accessed 7 October 2015]
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References
Rivers of Ivory Coast
{{IvoryCoast-river-stub