River · Gambia
Gambia River
The Gambia River gives its name to the country of Gambia, a narrow strip of land wrapped around the water. Past the capital Banjul the wide river flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
Picture credit: Dorothy Voorhees (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Forbes Johnston (CC BY 2.0) · Peter van der Sluijs (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Gambia River?
The river starts here: Fouta Djallon highlands in Guinea.
It ends in the Atlantic Ocean at Banjul.
Countries on the river: the Gambia.
The story behind it
Books do not fully agree on how long the Gambia is, because the river bends so much that every measurement comes out a little different. Near the mouth it is so wide that the far bank looks like a green thread, and ferries carry cars, goats and market baskets across. Salty water from the ocean pushes far upstream in the dry season, so farmers plant their rice where the water stays sweet. Mangrove roots stand on tiptoe in the mud, oysters clinging to them. On wooded islands in midstream, chimpanzees have been given a safe home, and hippos snort in the shallows at dusk. Pelicans, fish eagles and thousands of small waders feed on the sandbanks. When the rains come, the river swells, floods the rice fields on purpose and leaves behind fresh, dark mud.
Questions children ask
How long is the Gambia River?
The Gambia River is usually given as about 1 120 km long. The number is not completely certain, since the many bends make the river hard to measure.
Which country does the Gambia River flow through?
Here the river is counted as the river of Gambia, the country built along both of its banks. Its water comes from the highlands of Guinea before it turns west.
Where does the Gambia River flow into?
The river flows into the Atlantic Ocean beside Banjul, the capital. Its mouth is a broad funnel where the tide carries salty water in twice a day.
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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