River · Cameroon, Nigeria
Benue
The Benue is the largest tributary of the Niger in West Africa. It starts on a high plateau in Cameroon, flows west into Nigeria and joins the Niger at the town of Lokoja.
Picture credit: Ashinze (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Tunesh247 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Benue?
The river starts here: Adamawa Plateau north of Ngaoundéré, northern Cameroon.
It ends in the Niger River at Lokoja, Nigeria.
Countries on the river: Cameroon, Nigeria.
The story behind it
The name Benue comes from a word in the Tiv language that means “river or lake of hippos”. The river rises on the Adamawa Plateau in northern Cameroon. In its first stretch it tumbles down over many falls and rapids. Then it flows more calmly past the town of Garoua and through the Lagdo Reservoir into Nigeria, where it passes towns such as Yola and Makurdi. At normal times the river is only three to four metres deep, but in the rainy season the water can rise by 10 to 15 metres. Then boats can travel along almost the whole river, carrying fuel, cotton and peanuts. About 128 kinds of fish live in the Benue, among them the giraffe catfish and the rare Niger stingray. Where it meets the Niger at Lokoja, the Benue is more than a mile wide and carries even more water than the Niger itself.
Questions children ask
How long is the Benue?
The Benue is about 1 400 kilometres long. Some sources give a shorter length of about 1 100 kilometres, because the river is measured in different ways.
What does the name Benue mean?
The name comes from the word “bernor” in the Tiv language. It means “river or lake of hippos”.
Can boats sail on the Benue?
Yes, in the rainy season boats can travel along almost the whole river. When the water is low, a sandbank near Lokoja can stop bigger boats.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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