Lagos Lagoon ( Yoruba: Ọ̀sà) is a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

found in the city of

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, southwest

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, ...

, the most populous city in Africa. The name ''Lagos'' means 'lakes' in Portuguese, therefore ''Lagos Lagoon'' is an example of a tautological place name. The lagoon lies between the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and Lagos State. It is one of the ten lagoons in Lagos State and the largest in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

which spans over . The lagoon is a habitat for different aquatic organisms, such as various species of fish that are sources of income and food for communities surrounding it.

Physical characteristics

The lagoon is more than 50 km long and 3–13 km wide, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a long sand spit 2–5 km long. Its surface area is approximately 6,354.7 km². The lagoon is fairly shallow and is not plied by ocean-going

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

s, but by smaller

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s and

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

s. It receives the discharge of the

Ogun River The Ogun River ( Yoruba: Odò Ògùn) is a waterway in Nigeria that discharges into the Lagos Lagoon. Ogun State of Nigeria is named after the river. Course and usage The river rises near the towns of Sepeteri and Shaki in upper Oyo State at ...

and the

Osun River The Oṣun River (sometimes spelt Oshun), Yoruba: Odò Ọ̀ṣun, is a river of Yorubaland that rises in Ekiti State and flows westwards into Osun State before turning southwestwards at its confluence with the Erinle River near the town of Ede ...

. The sediments of the lagoon ranges from

mangrove swamp Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withs ...

to muddy and sandy foreshores.

Geography

Map of the Local Government Areas of Lagos

Lagos Lagoon empties into the Atlantic Ocean via Lagos Harbour, a main channel through the heart of the city, 0.5 km to 1 km wide and 10 km long. The principal ocean

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

of Lagos is located at

Apapa Apapa is a Local Government Area in Lagos, Nigeria located to the west of Lagos Island. Apapa contains a number of ports and terminals operated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), including the major port of Lagos State and Lagos Port Co ...

in a broad western branch off the main channel of the harbour. Another branch off the main channel that is narrower and longer separates

Lagos Island Lagos Island () is the principal and central Local government areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos, Nigeria. It was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian ce ...

from

Victoria Island Victoria Island () is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth-largest island in the world, and at in area, it is Canada's second-largest i ...

, the broad

sand spit A spit (cognate with the word for a rotisserie bar) or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drif ...

which forms the coastline. The city spreads along more than 30 km of the lagoon's south-western and western shoreline.

Pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

by urban and

industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...

is a major problem as a large amount of

wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...

is released into the lagoon daily. The 11-km-long

Third Mainland Bridge Third Mainland Bridge is the longest of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the Lagos Mainland, mainland, the others are the Eko Bridge, Eko and Carter Bridge, Carter bridges. It was the longest bridge in Africa until 1996 when the 6th Octo ...

was built off the western shore to by-pass congested mainland suburbs. To its north-east the lagoon is connected by a channel passing south of the town of Epe to the

Lekki Lagoon Lekki Lagoon is a lagoon located in Lagos and Ogun states in Nigeria. The lagoon lies directly to the east of Lagos Lagoon and is connected to it by a channel. It is surrounded by many beaches. Real Estate Developments There are two phases in th ...

. Narrow winding channels connect the system through a broad band of coastal swamps and rivers, as far away as

Sapele ''Entandrophragma cylindricum'' is a tree of the genus ''Entandrophragma'' of the family ''Meliaceae''. It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli ( ) or sapele mahogany, as well as aboudikro, assi, and muyovu. Origin of the name The name ''sape ...

, 250 km to the east. The areas around west-Lagos Lagoon are not well provided with roads and many communities there traditionally rely on water transport. In the middle of the lagoon are the Palaver Islands.

Pollution and degradation due to human activities

The Lagos Lagoon, situated in one of the fastest growing

megacities A megacity is a very large city, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in its 2018 "World Urbanization Prospects" report defines megacities as urban a ...

in the world, Lagos which is known for its rapid growth in population and industrial development, has become a hub of industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes. According to

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

and Africa UN Environment, Lagos Lagoon is the most polluted African

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

with its major wastes coming from oil and textile industry as well as urban sewage carried by the Ogun and Osun rivers. Excessive fishing activities,

sand mining Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in conc ...

and

dredging 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 d ...

, also contribute to the degradation of the Lagoon's ecosystem. In a study conducted, it was found that these wastes disposed in the lagoon are a threat to fish and mammal biology, which can in turn be harmful to humans. They contain heavy

metals A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. These properties are all associated with having electrons available at the Fermi level, as against no ...

such as mercury and

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...

, organic compounds

PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C12 H10−''x'' Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids f ...

, Phenolsa, PAHs and

organotins Organotin chemistry is the scientific study of the synthesis and properties of organotin compounds or stannanes, which are organometallic compounds containing tin–carbon bonds. The first organotin compound was diethyltin diiodide (), discovere ...

Gallery

File:Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria 01.jpg, Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria File:Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria.jpg, Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria File:Lagos Lagoon.jpg, Lagos Lagoon File:Lagos Lagoon1.jpg, Lagos Lagoon

Notes

{{reflist Lagoons of Lagos Geography of Lagos Lagoons of Yorubaland