The Ogooué (or Ogowe), also known as the Nazareth River, some long, is the principal river of

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

in west-central Africa and the fourth largest river in Africa by volume of discharge, trailing only the Congo, Kasai and

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 ...

. Its watershed drains nearly the entire country of Gabon, with some tributaries reaching into the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

Geography

Course

The source of the Ogooué River was discovered in 1894 by Mary Kingsley, an English explorer who travelled up the banks by

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

and

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

. The river rises in the northwest of the Bateke Plateaux near Kengue,

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

. It runs northwest, and enters

near Boumango. Poubara Falls are near

Maulongo Maulongo is a Gabonese village on the Ogooue River. It is located in Haut-Ogooué near the Poubara Falls. References

National Geographic.2003. African Adventure Atlas Pg 24,72. led by Sean Fraser Populated places in Haut-Ogooué Province ...

. From Lastoursville up to Ndjole, the Ogooué is non-navigable due to

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

. From the latter city, it runs west, and enters the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

near Ozouri, south of Port Gentil. The Ogowe Delta is quite large, about 100 km long and 100 km wide.

Delta

A 30,000 ha site in the delta of the Ogooué River, including much of Mandji Island, has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports significant populations of many bird species.

Basin

The Ogooué Basin is , of which or 73 percent lies within Gabon. It mostly consists of undisturbed

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

with some savanna grassland where the mid-year

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

is longest. It is home to a high biodiversity. All three species of African

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 ...

, for instance, occur in the river: the

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and ce ...

, the dwarf crocodile, and the slender-snouted crocodile. It is also the type locality for the catfish '' Synodontis acanthoperca''. The Mpassa River is a

tributary 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 they ...

of the Ogooué River. The Ndjoumou River is the main tributary of Mpassa River. Distance from river mouth *River in confluence

Economy

The Ogooué is

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Navigability is also referred to in the broader context of a body of water having sufficient under ...

from Ndjole to the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

. It is used to bring wood to the Port Gentil Harbour. The Ogowe Basin includes several major conservation reserves, including Lope National Park. The catchment area has an average population density of 4 people per km². Towns along the river include Ayem,

Adané Adané is a small town in the Ogooué et des Lacs Department, Moyen-Ogooué Province, in northwestern Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by E ...

, Loanda, Lambaréné, Ndjole, Booué,

Kankan Kankan ( Mandingo: Kánkàn; N’ko: ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫) is the largest city in Guinea in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 198,013 people as of 2020. The city is located in eastern Guinea about east of the ...

Maulongo Maulongo is a Gabonese village on the Ogooue River. It is located in Haut-Ogooué near the Poubara Falls. References

National Geographic.2003. African Adventure Atlas Pg 24,72. led by Sean Fraser Populated places in Haut-Ogooué Province ...

, Mboungou-Mbadouma, Ndoro, Lastoursville,

Moanda Moanda may refer to * Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Moanda, Gabon, a town in Gabon ** Moanda railway station, a train station in Moanda, Gabon ** Moanda Airport, an airport in Moand ...

, and

Franceville Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku. Overview P ...

near the Congo border. Towns in Congo include Zanaga. The first European

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

to trace the river to its source was

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza (born Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà; 26 January 1852 – 14 September 1905) was an Italian-French explorer. With his family's financial help, he explored the Ogooué region of Central Africa, ...

, who traveled in the area in the 1870s.

Tributaries

The Ogowe River receives water of numerous tributaries including: * Abanga, which rises in the Cristal Mountains, near Medouneu * Baniaka * Dilo * Iyinda, the most important tributary * Letili * Lassio * Lebombi * Lekabi * Lekedi * Lekoni, which flows across Akieni and Leconi * Letili * Leyou * Lolo * Mbine * Ngolo * Ngounie * Nke * Offoue * Okano, whose main tributary is the Lara River * Mpassa, which flows across

* Sebe, which flows past Okondja * Wagny

List of major tributaries

The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from the mouth heading upstream):

References

* Perusset André. 1983. Oro-Hydrographie (Le Relief) in ''Geographie et Cartographie du Gabon, Atlas Illustré'' led by The Ministère de l'Education Nationale de la Republique Gabonaise. Pg 10-13. Paris, France: Edicef. * Petringa, Maria. ''Brazza, A Life for Africa''. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. . Describes Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza's extensive explorations of the Ogoué River basin. *

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

. 2003. ''African Adventure Atlas'' Pg 24,72. led by Sean Fraser. * Gardinier David. 1994. ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon 2nd Edition''. USA: The Scarercrow Press, Inc. * Direction General de L'Environnement.1999. ''Stratégie nationale et Plan D'action sur la biodiversité biologique du Gabon''. * ''The Atlas of Africa''. Pg 201. by Regine Van Chi-Bonnardel. Jeune Afrique Editions. * Lerique Jacques. 1983. Hydrographie-Hydrologie. in ''Geographie et Cartographie du Gabon, Atlas Illustré'' led by The Ministère de l'Education Nationale de la Republique Gabonaise. Pg 14-15. Paris, France: Edicef.

External links

World Resources Institute map of Ogooué watershed

Map of the Ogoué River basin at Water Resources eAtlas

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20031020230344/http://www.mokelembembe.com/ Website about the dinosaur hunt {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogooue River Rivers of Gabon Important Bird Areas of Gabon International rivers of Africa Rivers of the Republic of the Congo Ramsar sites in Gabon