The Kaduna River is a tributary of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

which flows for through

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. It got its name from the

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

s that lived in the river and surrounding area. Kaduna in the native dialect,

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

, was the word for "crocodiles". It starts in

Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...

on the

Jos Plateau The Jos Plateau is a plateau located near the centre of Nigeria. The plateau has given its name to the Plateau State in which it is found and is named for the state's capital, Jos. The plateau is home to people of diverse cultures and languages ...

southwest of

Jos Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situ ...

town, flows through its namesake

Kaduna State Kaduna (, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; , ; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna (city), Kaduna, which was the List of Nigerian ...

and through its capital Kaduna, and meets the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

River in

Niger State Niger State is a state in the North Central (Nigeria), North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory, to the north by Kebbi State and Zamfara State, ...

. Most of its course passes through open savanna woodland, but its lower section has cut several gorges above its entrance into the extensive

floodplains. The river is used for fishing and transport of local produce.

Pollution

Urban and

industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...

s have been linked to elevated temperatures and heavy metal concentrations in the River Kaduna (Arah, 1985). Untreated industrial wastes that are carelessly dumped directly or indirectly into River Kaduna's inflow wastewaters have been determined to be a source of pollution.

Flooding

Due to recurring floods in Kaduna, the federal government established a flood control project. In 2022, flooding from the Kaduna river caused significant property damage to the surrounding area. In November 2022, two teenagers identified as Zakaria Aliyu Yahaya and Yusuf Abdullahi, aged 17 and 16 of the Government Secondary School in

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

, reportedly drowned while swimming in the Kogin Mutuwa in Kaduna.

Climate

Yearly temperature in Kaduna is 25.2 °C , 77.4 °F. Around 998 mm , 39.3 inch of precipitation falls every year. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 55 °F to 95 °F and is rarely below 50 °F or above 102 °F. Because of its nearness to the equator. The wet season is warm, oppressive, and overcast and the dry season is hot and partly cloudy. It is very difficult to portray summers in Kaduna definitively. The time of January, February, Walk, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December is generally viewed as the best season for Holiday visitation or visits.

References

Rivers of Nigeria {{Nigeria-river-stub