The Wouri (also Vouri or Vuri) is a 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 ...
. Cameroon has two major rivers, the
Sanaga, the longest at about 525 km (325 miles) long and the Wouri, the largest. The Wouri forms at the confluence of the rivers
Nkam
Nkam is a department of Littoral Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 6,291 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 66,979. The capital of the department lies at Yabassi.
Subdivisions
The department is divided admin ...
and
Makombé, northeast of the city of
Yabassi
Yabassi is a town and commune in western Cameroon, and capital of the Nkam department. Its population in 2001 was estimated at 12,000. The main dialect spoken is the Yabassi. However, there are also other dialects originating in the Nkam which are ...
. It then flows about southeast to the
Wouri estuary
The Wouri estuary, or Cameroon estuary is a large tidal estuary in Cameroon where several rivers come together, emptying into the Bight of Biafra. Douala, the largest city in Cameroon, is at the mouth of the Wouri River where it enters the estu ...
at
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...
, the chief port and industrial city in the southwestern part of Cameroon on 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 ...
. The river is navigable about upriver from Douala.
Exploration
The Portuguese navigator and explorer
Fernão do Pó
Fernão do Pó (; ''fl.'' 1472), also known as Fernão Pó, Fernando Pó or Fernando Poo, was a 15th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer of the West African coast. He was the first European to see the islands in the Gulf of Guinea around 14 ...
or Fernando Pó, is believed to be the first European to explore the estuary of the Wouri, around the year 1472. The explorers noted an abundance of the mud lobster ''
Lepidophthalmus turneranus
''Lepidophthalmus turneranus'' (formerly ''Callianassa turnerana''), the Cameroon ghost shrimp, is a species of " ghost shrimp" or "mud lobster" that lives off the coast of West Africa. It occasionally erupts into dense swarms, one of which resul ...
'' in the Wouri River and named it "''Rio dos Camarões"'', Portuguese for "River of Prawns", and the phrase from which the name Cameroon derived. The phrase "''Rio dos Camarões"'' later became Camarones when the Spanish arrived in the region. Then, during the German
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
in the country which started in 1884, the country's name changed to Kamerun before the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
placed the country under French and British authority in 1919 which led to the final name "Cameroon".
Bridges
First bridge
In the 1950s, during the colonial period, the French built a bridge of 1 km across the river, the longest in the central African sub-region. It connects Douala with the city of
Bonabéri
Bonabéri is a port in the Littoral Region of Cameroon. It is located on the western side of the harbour across the Wouri River from the larger port of Douala.
Districts
Bonaberi has 10 districts:
* Bojongo
* Bonamatoumbe
* Bonamikano
* Bo ...
and is not only of great economic importance to western Cameroon, carrying auto, truck, and train traffic but also a central tool for international exchanges with
landlocked
A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...
countries like
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
and the
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
.
Since 2004 the bridge has been undergoing a major rehabilitation. With an initial capacity of 2,000 vehicles per day, this bridge now supports more than 45,000 vehicles everyday creating monstrous traffic at the entrance of Douala's heart.
Second bridge
With a cost of almost CFA 141,6 billion, the second bridge on the Wouri river is 756 m long and 34 m width and has a 746 m long railway.
Constructed by the multinational road construction company
SOGEA SATOM and financed by the Cameroonian government and a loan from the French government, this bridge will help decongest traffic on the first bridge. The construction of this bridge is important for Cameroon's economy and will facilitate exchanges in the central African region which opens to the world through Cameroon and its proximity to 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 bridge is meant to be commissioned before the end of 2018.
River Wouri.jpg, Bonaberi from the Wouri River
Canoe riding.jpg, Boats on Wouri (2020)
Couché du soleil.jpg, Couché du soleil at Bonendale (2013)
Mangrove Bonabéri.jpg, Bonaberi mangrove swamp
Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fre ...
Berges du Wouri 05.jpg
Berges du Wouri 06.jpg
Berges du Wouri 01.jpg
Berges du Wouri 07.jpg
Berges du Wouri 02.jpg
Berges du Wouri 08.jpg
Berges du Wouri 04.jpg
Berges du Wouri 03.jpg
Nouveau pont sur le Wouri 01.jpg
Nouveau pont sur le Wouri 02.jpg
Nouveau pont sur le Wouri 03.jpg
Nouveau pont sur le Wouri 04.jpg
File:Compétition de Canoë Kayak sur le Wouri.jpg, Kayak competition
File:Compétition de Canoë Kayak sur le Wouri2.jpg
File:Compétition de Canoë Kayak sur le Wouri5.jpg
File:Compétition de Canoë Kayak sur le Wouri4.jpg
File:Course de pirogue pendant le Ngondo.jpg, Canoe Race during Ngondo Festival
File:Course de pirogue pendant le Ngondo4.jpg
File:Course de pirogue pendant le Ngondo7.jpg
File:Animation pendant le Ngondo.jpg
File:WL-Cameroun-Douala-Pecheurs de sable dans le Wouri.jpg, Sand extraction
Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in concre ...
in the Wouri River
File:Fleuve Wouri à Douala 05.jpg, A view of how the Wouri banks looks like during the Ngondo
File:WikiAfr20 MarcJP46 05.jpg, Fishermen on the Wouri
File:Fleuve Wouri à Douala 08.jpg, A view of Wouri banks during Ngondo festival
File:Fleuve Wouri à Douala 10.jpg
File:Fleuve Wouri à Douala 06.jpg
File:Pirogues sur les eaux du Wouri 06.jpg
File:Activités du Ngondo 15.jpg, Dance group during Ngondo festival
File:Activités du Ngondo 11.jpg, Swimming Competition
File:Activités du Ngondo 14.jpg
File:Activités du Ngondo 10.jpg, Traditional rights done along the Wouri Banks
File:Activités du Ngondo 17.jpg, Cultural Dance Performance
File:Activités du Ngondo 12.jpg, Dance performance at the Wouri banks during Ngondo
File:Activités du Ngondo 9.jpg
File:Activités du Ngondo 03.jpg
File:Activités du Ngondo 02.jpg
File:Activités du Ngondo 7.jpg, Ngondo activities at the Wouri banks
File:Fleuve Wouri à Douala 01.jpg
File:GedNgondo00.JPG
File:Le message pendant la cérémonie du Ngondo.jpg
File:Nageur riverain du fleuve WOURI dans le Littoral camerounais.jpg, A man swimming in the Wouri River
Sources
Encyclopædia Britannica
References
{{Coord, 4.08333, N, 9.7, E, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title
Wouri River
Littoral Region (Cameroon)