The Sanaga River (formerly german: Zannaga) is the largest river in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
located in
East Region,
Centre Region and
Littoral Region. Its length is about from the confluence of Djérem and Lom River. The total length of Sanaga-Djérem River system is about . Djerem is the longest source of Sanaga River with a total length of 464.5 km.
Course
The Sanaga River has its Source at the
Adamawa Plateau
The Adamawa Plateau (french: Massif de l'Adamaoua) is a plateau region in west-central Africa stretching from south-eastern Nigeria through north-central Cameroon ( Adamawa and North Provinces) to the Central African Republic. The part of the pl ...
. It is formed by the confluence of the
Djérem River and
Lom River
The Lom ( , ) is a river in northwestern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube flowing into it 1 km east of the town of Lom.
The river takes its source from the foot of Midzhur (2,168 m), the highest peak of western Stara Planina, on ...
in the north of the
East Region.
Djérem River has a total length of and
Lom River
The Lom ( , ) is a river in northwestern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube flowing into it 1 km east of the town of Lom.
The river takes its source from the foot of Midzhur (2,168 m), the highest peak of western Stara Planina, on ...
has a total length of . Apart from those originating rivers, the largest tributary of Sanaga is
Mbam River with a total length of .
Climate
The Sanaga River forms a 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 ...
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
Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests lie to the north between the Sanaga River and the
Cross River of
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 ...
, and the
Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests
The Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests, also known as the Congolian coastal forests, are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of Central Africa, covering hills, plains, and mountains of the Atlantic coast of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ga ...
extend south of the river through southwestern Cameroon and
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
,
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
, the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
,
Cabinda and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
.
Hydrology
The flow of the river was measured at Edéa in m³/s
Dams and reservoirs
Beginning at the headwaters, there are 2 dams on the Sanaga River:
Transport
![Photo Pont Allemand d'Edéa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Photo_Pont_Allemand_d%27Ed%C3%A9a.JPG)
*The
Camrail
Camrail is a company operating passenger and freight traffic between the two largest cities in Cameroon and several smaller cities. The company was formed in 1999 and granted a 20-year concession to operate the Cameroon National Railway. The compa ...
railway bridges the Sanaga River at
Edea.
References
Further reading
Rivers of Cameroon
{{Cameroon-river-stub