Sénégal

Sénégal 

a river in West Africa, flowing through the Republic of Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania. Rising in the Fouta Djallon Mountains as the Bafing River, the river is called the Sénégal only after its confluence with the Bakoy River. Its length from the headwaters of the Bafing River is 1,430 km, and it drains an area of 441,000 sq km. The Sénégal is full of rapids in the upper course and forms many waterfalls; farther downstream it flows mostly through flat country. It empties into the Atlantic, forming a delta of about 1,500 sq km. Its mouth is obstructed by a sandbar.

The river’s discharge fluctuates from 5 cu m per sec in May to 2,000–5,000 cu m per sec in August and September. During the high-water period from June through October the river is navigable for 888 km to Kayes, and after the water level drops, to Podor 283 km upstream. A hydroelectric station has been built on the river, which is also used for irrigation and fishing. The largest cities on the river are the port of Saint-Louis at its mouth, Bafoulabé, and Bakel.