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

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

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

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesZambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than ha ...

. Its

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

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

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

, and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

Course

The source of the Ogooué River was discovered in 1894 by

Mary Kingsley Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900) was an English ethnographer, scientific writer, and explorer whose travels throughout West Africa and resulting work helped shape European perceptions of both African cultures and ...

, 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. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

and

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow 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 a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

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

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

. It runs northwest, and enters

near Boumango. Poubara Falls are near Maulongo. From

Lastoursville Lastoursville or Mandji is a city in east-central Gabon, lying on the Ogooué River, the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It was founded as a slave depot named ''Mandji'', renamed ''Maadiville'' in 1883 and finally took its current name ...

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 gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade' ...

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

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is i ...

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

Basin

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

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

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 ...

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

crocodile Crocodiles (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 even more loosely to include all extant me ...

, 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 throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern, ...

, the

dwarf crocodile The dwarf crocodile (''Osteolaemus tetraspis''), also known as the African dwarf crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile (a name more often used for the Asian mugger crocodile) or bony crocodile, is an African crocodile that is also the smallest exta ...

, and the

slender-snouted crocodile ''Mecistops'' is a genus of crocodiles, the slender-snouted crocodiles, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy and etymology Traditionally placed in '' Crocodylus'', recent studies in DNA and morphology have shown that it is in fact basal to ...

. It is also the type locality for the catfish '' Synodontis acanthoperca''. The

Mpassa River The Mpassa River is a tributary of the Ogooue River. It flows in Gabon, and passes through Franceville. Its main tributary is the Ndjoumou River. The Mpassa River rises in the Bateke Plateau The Teke people or Bateke, also known as the Ty ...

is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drai ...

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

Economy

The Ogooué is navigable from Ndjole to the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

. 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, Loanda, Lambaréné, Ndjole,

Booué Booué is a small town in central Gabon. It is situated in Lopé Department, southwest side of the Ogooué-Ivindo Province. The town lies just 6.6 miles to the south of the Equator and is the province's only Department capital in the Souther ...

, Kankan, Maulongo,

Mboungou-Mbadouma Mboungou Mbadouma is a town in Gabon. It is located near the confluence between the Ogooue and the Leconi Rivers. Transport It lies near the Trans-Gabon Railway The Trans-Gabon Railway (french: Transgabonais) is the only railway in G ...

, Ndoro,

Moanda Moanda is one of the largest towns in Gabon, lying on the N3 road in Haut Ogooué. It is also one of the most important manganese mining towns in the world, under the auspices of the '' Compagnie Minière de l'Ogooué'' (COMILOG), which beg ...

, 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 when Pierre Sa ...

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

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

to trace the river to its source was

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà, later known as Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza; 26 January 1852 – 14 September 1905), was an Italian-born, naturalized French explorer. With his family's financial help, he explored the Ogoou ...

, who traveled in the area in the 1870s.

Tributaries

Fan women and child, banks of the Ogoway

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 Leyou Technologies Holdings Limited ( zh, 樂遊科技控股有限公司; formerly Sumpo Food Holdings Limited) is a Chinese video game holding company based at Lippo Centre, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Founded in 2010, the company originally dealt w ...

* 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 a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

. 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 International rivers of Africa Rivers of the Republic of the Congo Ramsar sites in Gabon