River · São Tomé and Príncipe
Io Grande
Io Grande is counted as the longest river of São Tomé and Príncipe, an island country in Africa. It reaches the Gulf of Guinea on the south-eastern coast.
Where is the Io Grande?
The river starts here: mountainous rainforest in the interior of São Tomé.
It ends in the Gulf of Guinea on the south-east coast.
Countries on the river: São Tomé and Príncipe.
The story behind it
Nobody has measured this river very exactly, and people do not even agree which stream on the island is truly the longest, so no reliable length can be given here. Like all rivers on São Tomé it is short and steep, because the island is a volcano that rises straight out of the ocean. Rain falls almost every day on the green peaks, and the water races downhill over black rocks and small waterfalls. It passes cocoa and coffee plantations with their old warehouses, where farmers dry beans in the sun. Herons and kingfishers hunt in the shallows, while crabs scuttle over the stones. Near the coast the current slows down, palm trees lean over the water, and fishermen push their wooden boats out into the waves of the Gulf of Guinea.
Questions children ask
How long is the Io Grande?
No reliable length is recorded for this river. The island is small and its streams are short, so the distance to the sea is only a few dozen kilometres.
Which country does the Io Grande belong to?
It lies on São Tomé, the larger island of São Tomé and Príncipe. This country sits in the Gulf of Guinea, close to the equator.
Where does the Io Grande flow into the sea?
It reaches the Gulf of Guinea on the south-eastern side of the island. Its mouth lies in a warm, rainy region with palms and cocoa fields.
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.
Last checked: