River · Guinea-Bissau
Corubal River
The Corubal is the longest river of Guinea-Bissau and the wildest one too. It comes down from the highlands of Guinea and joins the Geba estuary on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Where is the Corubal River?
The river starts here: Fouta Djallon highlands in Guinea.
It ends in the Geba estuary, Atlantic Ocean.
Countries on the river: Guinea-Bissau.
The story behind it
Different books give the Corubal different lengths, because the border country it crosses has been mapped only roughly, so the number here should be read as an estimate. The river is famous for its rapids: at Saltinho the water squeezes between black rocks and roars loudly enough to be heard from far away. Above and below the falls, hippos rest in deep pools and crocodiles lie on the sandbanks. The Boé region around the upper river is a land of savanna, gallery forest and red earth, where chimpanzees still live. In the rainy season the Corubal swells brown and fast and cuts villages off from the road; in the dry months it shrinks, and children swim in the calm pools. Boats bring cashew nuts, the country's most important crop, down to the coast.
Questions children ask
How long is the Corubal River?
The Corubal is usually given as about 561 km long. That figure is an estimate, because its upper course through the border country is not measured exactly.
Which country does the Corubal River flow through?
Here it is counted as the river of Guinea-Bissau, where its longest and best known stretch lies. Its water starts in the highlands of neighbouring Guinea.
Where does the Corubal River flow into?
The Corubal joins the wide Geba estuary and reaches the Atlantic Ocean through it. In the estuary the tide is strong and mangroves grow along both shores.
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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