The Cacheu is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
of
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 ) ...
also known as the Farim along its upper course. Its total length is about 257 km. One of its major
tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drain ...
is the
Canjambari River.
Course
Its headwaters are near the northern border of the country, north of
Contuboel and close to a bend of the
Geba River. It runs west, by the town of
Farim and close to
Bigenè, and broadens into an estuary on whose south shore the town of
Cacheu
Cacheu is a town in northwestern Guinea-Bissau, lying on the Cacheu River. Its population was estimated to be 9,849 .
History and landmarks
The town of Cacheu is situated in territory of the Papel people. The name is of Bainuk origin: "i.e. ''C ...
may be found.
Elia Island is a fairly large island located on the right bank of the river close to its mouth. The island's western end lies east of the confluence with the
Elia River with
Ongueringao Island on the other bank.
The Cacheu is navigable to large (2,000-ton) ships for about 97 km in, and to smaller vessels much further; it was formerly an important route for commerce.
History
During the
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...
, the
Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence (), or the Bissau-Guinean War of Independence, was an armed independence conflict that took place in Portuguese Guinea from 1963 to 1974. It was fought between Portugal and the African Party for the Independe ...
, the river served several military operations.
In 2000, a large part of the estuary of the river became part of the
Cacheu River Natural Park.
Faculty of Law of Bissau, References on Legal Diploma on the Creation of Cacheu River Mangrove Natural Park
/ref> 68% of the park features mango trees, which forms a part of a large block of the trees in West Africa.
References
Bibliography
*Salif Diop,
La côte ouest-africaine. Du Saloum (Sénégal) à la Mellacorée (Rép. de Guinée)
', ORSTOM, Paris, 1990, 380 pages
Rivers of Guinea-Bissau
Geba River
{{GuineaBissau-river-stub