Niger River
river in West Africa
The Niger River ( NY-jər; French: (le) fleuve Niger [(lə) flœv niʒɛʁ]) is the main river of West Africa, extending about 4,180 kilometres (2,600 miles). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea (Faranah Region) near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through southwest Mali and through southwest Niger, on the border with Benin, and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger is the 14th-longest river in the world, and the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile, and the Congo River. Its main tributary is the Benue River.
Etymology
The Niger has different names in the different languages of the region:
Fula: 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤴𞤮 𞤔𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭𞤦𞤢 (Maayo Jaaliba)
Manding: ߖߋ߬ߟߌߓߊ߬ (Jeliba) or ߖߏ߬ߟߌߓߊ߬ (Joliba, "great river")
Tuareg: ⴴⵔⵓ ⵏ ⴴⵔⵓⵏ (Eġərəw n-Igərǝwăn, "river of rivers")
Songhay: Isa "the river"
Zarma: Isa Beeri "great river"
Hausa: كوَرَ (Kwara)
Nupe: Èdù
Yoruba: Odo Ọya "named after the Yoruba goddess Ọya, who is believed to embody the river"
Igbo: Orimiri or Orimili "great water"
Ijaw: Toru Beni "the river water"
The earliest use of the name "Niger" for the river is by Leo Africanus in his Description of Africa, published in Italian in 1550. Nevertheless, "Nigris" was already the name of a river in West Africa, as mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Solinus, among others. Whether this river was the same as the actual Niger, or rather the river also known as Ger (currently known as Oued Guir, in Morocco), is a matter of discussion. This Nigris was said to divide "Africa proper" from the land of the (Western) Ethiopians to the south, and its name (as well as that of the river Ger) might well come from the Berber phrase gr-n-grwn meaning "river of rivers", as the current Tuareg name for the river Niger.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Niger River” is river in West Africa. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Niger, River and river, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “river in West Africa” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3542. The first chronological checks are 1550.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Niger River”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Niger River primary sources, Niger River archive and Niger research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Niger River”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Niger River” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.