Benue River (), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is a major

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...

of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

. The size of its

catchment basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

is 319,000 km² (123,000 sq mi). Almost its entire length of

approximately An approximation is anything that is intentionally similar but not exactly equal to something else. Etymology and usage The word ''approximation'' is derived from Latin ''approximatus'', from ''proximus'' meaning ''very near'' and the prefix ' ...

is navigable during the summer

month A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words ''month'' and ''Moon'' are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar mo ...

s. As a result, it is an important

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

route in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

s through which it flows. The name ''

Benue Benue may refer to: * Benue River, a river in Cameroon and Nigeria * Benue State, a state in Nigeria ** Benue-Plateau State, a former administrative division in Nigeria * Benue Trough, a major geological formation in Nigeria * Benue–Congo language ...

'' comes from ''Binuwe,'' meaning 'Mother of Waters’ in the

Batta language Batta is an Austronesian language spoken in Batanta Island, one of the Raja Ampat Islands Raja Ampat (), or the Four Kings, is an archipelago located off of the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula (on the island of New Guinea), Southwest Pap ...

Geography

The Benue rises in the

Adamawa Plateau The Adamawa Plateau () is a plateau region in west-central Africa stretching from south-eastern Nigeria through north-central Cameroon ( Adamawa and North Provinces) to the Central African Republic. The part of the plateau that lies in Nigeria i ...

of northern

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, from where it flows west, and through the town of

Garoua Garoua (also Garua; Fula: 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢, Garwa) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhab ...

and

Lagdo Reservoir Lagdo Reservoir is a reservoir located in the Northern Province of Cameroon, on the Benue River, in the Niger basin. The lake covers an area of 586 km. History The Lagdo dam was built between August 1977 and July 1982 by a combination of e ...

, into

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

south of the

Mandara mountains The Mandara Mountains are a volcanic range extending about 190 km (about 120 mi) along the northern part of the Cameroon–Nigeria border, from the Benue River in the south () to the north-west of Maroua in the north (). The highest ...

, and through

Jimeta Jimeta is a town in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria. The town's population was 73,080 in 1991. The elevation of Jimeta is 135 m, and it lies along the Benue River. Jimeta and nearby Yola, the state capital of Adamawa have interconnected histories ...

, Ibi and

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated along the Benue River. In 2017, Makurdi's urban population was 517,342. The town is divided by the Ri ...

before meeting the

Lokoja Lokoja is a north-central city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger River, Niger and Benue River, Benue list of rivers of Nigeria, rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Bassa Nge, Yoruba people, Yoruba Oworo peopl ...

. Large tributaries are the

Faro River The Faro River is a river that flows over the Nigeria–Cameroon border in Africa. Its source is on the Adamawa Plateau, which lies southeast of Ngaoundéré, in the Adamawa Region of Cameroon. A tributary of the Benue River, they meet on the bor ...

, the

Gongola River The Gongola River is in northeastern Nigeria, the principal tributary of the Benue River. The upper course of the river as well as most of its tributaries are seasonal streams, but fill rapidly in August and September. The Gongola rises on the e ...

and the

Mayo Kébbi The Mayo Kébbi is a river in Central and West Africa. The river rises in Chad, then flows west into the Bénoué River. Mayo-Kébbi Prefecture in Chad is named for it. The Mayo Kébbi is the major outlet for Lake Fianga, shared between Camer ...

, which connects it with the

Logone River The Logon or Logone River is a major tributary of the Chari River. The Logone's sources are located in the western Central African Republic, northern Cameroon, and southern Chad. It has two major tributaries: the Pendé River (Eastern Logone) in ...

(part of the

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

system) during

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

s. Other tributaries include

Taraba River The Taraba River is a river in Taraba State, Nigeria, a tributary of the Benue River. It joins the Benue on a floodplain 10 km wide and 50 km across. The major towns along the River Taraba are Sert-Baruwa, Sarki Ruwa, Karamti, Jamtari ...

and

River Katsina Ala The Katsina Ala (or Katsina-Ala) is a river in central Nigeria, located within its Middle Belt. It serves as a major tributary of the Benue River in Nigeria. The source of the river is found in the Bamenda highlands in northwestern Cameroon. It ...

. At the point of confluence, the Benue exceeds the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

by volume. The mean discharge before 1960 was for the Benue and for the

. During the following

decade A decade (from , , ) is a period of 10 years. Decades may describe any 10-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement ...

s, the runoff of both rivers decreased markedly due to

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

Climate

Benue State has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

. It is warm every month of the year throughout both wet and dry seasons. The annual temperature is 34°C and there is about 244 inch of rain in a year. The state has an average humidity of 61%, dew point of 25 °C, an UV-index of 7 and it is mainly dry for 169 days in a year.

Major floods

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), conducted a “disaster risk management analysis” and advised Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to take proactive steps to mitigate the impact of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. The agency advised that water bodies across some states be desilted and

dredged Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing dams ...

regularly to make water available for various purposes. The agency urged relevant institutions to carry out routine monitoring of dams and water bodies to ensure their operation rule curve for

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

s is adhered to.

2022 Flood

On September 23, 2022, flooding affected all riverine local government areas of Benue, according to the state Commissioner for

Water Resources Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either Fresh water, freshwater from natural sources, or water produ ...

and Environment, Godwin Oyiwona. The flooding affected

Agatu Agatu is a Local Government Area of Benue State, North Central Nigeria, created in 1996. It was formerly part of the Agatu district in the old Otukpo division. The headquarters of the local government is at Obagaji. Agatu is one of nine local go ...

, Logo, Guma,

Buruku Buruku is a Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Buruku. It covers an area of 1,246 km² and has a population of 203,721 according to the 2006 census. Buruku LGA consists of the following districts ...

Otukpo Otukpo is a town in Benue State, Nigeria located in the North Central (Nigeria), Middle Belt Region of Nigeria. It is also the eponymous name of a subgroup of the Idoma people. Otukpo is the headquarters of the Otukpo Local Government Area. It i ...

, and Gwer-West. The government worked to mitigate flooding effects and released funds for cleaning the Idye Basin. In October 2022, farmers in

Adamawa State Adamawa is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno State, Borno to the northwest, Gombe State, Gombe to the west, and Taraba State, Taraba to the southwest while its eas ...

struggled to clear off remnants of crops destroyed by the flooding. The disaster disrupted many communities across Nigeria’s 36 states, with hundreds of villages and urban centers submerged in water. The

disaster A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...

unsettled over 2.4 million people and over 600 fatalities were recorded. Additionally, "expansive hectares of farmlands across affected states were swept off." The worst hit were mostly residents of agrarian communities near major tributaries in seven of the 21 local government areas in the state. Within three months, 12

Local Government Areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

(LGAs) were submerged, affecting 82,730 residents, 13,788 households, 51 people injured, and 27 deaths. Farmlands worth

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...

s of

naira The naira (sign: ₦; code: NGN; , , , ) is the currency of Nigeria. One naira is divided into 100 ''kobo''. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the sole issuer of legal tender money throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It controls the ...

were destroyed.

January 2020

President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

inaugurated a 3.35-km drainage channel project in

, to address

ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

challenges in the Idye Community. The project, part of the 17 ecological intervention projects, was approved by the President in the fourth quarter of 2017 and completed in 48 weeks. The project aimed to address the devastating effects of erosion and flood in the region.

2017 Flood

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Idye Community was among the worst-hit areas of the 2017 flood that displaced over 120,000 persons in the

capital,

. Floods devastated more than 200 households in

2012 Flood

The Benue River flooded in October 2012, resulting in a large increase in the

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

venomous snakes ''Venomous snakes'' are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow ...

in the Duguri

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

, Alkaleri Local Government Area,

Bauchi State Bauchi (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Jigawa State, Jigawa to the north, Yobe State, Y ...

. A July 2013 report indicated that over 200 people in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

had died of

snakebite A snakebite is an injury caused by the bite of a snake, especially a venomous snake. A common sign of a bite from a venomous snake is the presence of two puncture wounds from the animal's fangs. Sometimes venom injection from the bite may ...

. The

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

Kaltungo Kaltungo is one of the 11 Local Governments Area of Gombe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Kaltungo, located in the western part of the Local Government Area on the A345 highway at . Kaltungo LGA covers an area of 881 squar ...

Gombe State Gombe State (; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in North East (Nigeria), northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Borno State, Borno in the vicinity of Gongola River and Lake Dadin Kowa Dam, Dadin Kowa and Yobe S ...

in Nigeria, is the nearest location for treatment of snakebite; "whoever is lucky to make it to

is treated in only two days and then they return home." File:Drone view Benoue.jpg, Benoue huts File:Drone view at Benoue.jpg, Benoue view from drone File:Traversée de la Benoué à pirogue.jpg, Crossing the Benue River from Lagdo with a Canoe

Pollution

Benue Hike Tourism and Conservation Foundation, in an attempt to keep the river protected from various forms of pollution, informed the Benue State Government about the irregularities of some companies in the state for emptying waste in the river.

Waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

, that could easily cause damage to human and

aquatic Aquatic means relating to water; living in or near water or taking place in water; does not include groundwater, as "aquatic" implies an environment where plants and animals live. Aquatic(s) may also refer to: * Aquatic animal, either vertebrate ...

life, was dumped into Benue River. Subsequently, the Benue State Government took an immediate attempt in addressing the issue to prevent further damages for its citizenry.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benue River Tributaries of the Niger River Rivers of Cameroon Rivers of Nigeria International rivers of Africa North Region (Cameroon) Cameroon–Nigeria border