river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
of
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...
also known as the Farim along its upper course. Its total length is about 257 km. One of its major
tributaries
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' 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 into which the ...
Its headwaters are near the northern border of the country, north of Contuboel and close to a bend of the
Geba River
The Geba ( French: ''Rivière Geba'', Portuguese: ''Rio Geba'') is a river of West Africa that rises in the northernmost area of Guinea in the Fouta Djallon highlands, passes through southern Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-B ...
. It runs west, by the town of
Farim
Farim is a town of northern Guinea-Bissau. It sits on the north bank of the Farim/Cacheu River, about 215 km (135 miles) up the river from Cacheu. Population 8,661 (2009 census).Bigenè, and broadens into an estuary on whose south shore the town of Cacheu 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
Elia is a name which may be a variant of the names Elias, Elijah (disambiguation), Elijah, Eli or Eliahu, and may refer to:
People
* Aelia (gens) or Elia, a ''gens'' of Ancient Rome
Mononymic
* Elia or Elijah, a biblical prophet
* Elia, a pen-na ...
with Ongueringao Island on the other bank.
The Cacheu is navigable to large (2,000-ton) ships for about 97 km, and to smaller vessels much further; it was formerly an important route for commerce.
History
During the
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War (), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the Portuguese Empire, former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan War of Independence, Angolan, Guinea-Bissau War of Independence ...
, the
Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence (), also known as 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 t ...