Gambia River
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2008-06-11T21:38:35Z
Eubot
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{{for|the country|The Gambia}}
[[Image:Gambia satellite fires.jpeg|thumb|right|500px|The western portion of the Gambia River, seen from space. The line shows the border of the country The Gambia.]]
[[Image:River gambia Niokolokoba National Park.gif||right|thumb|250px|Gambia River in the [[Niokolo-Koba National Park]]]]
The '''Gambia River''' is a major [[river]] in [[Africa]], running 1,130 km (700 miles) from the [[Fouta Djallon]] plateau in north [[Guinea]] westward to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] at the city of [[Banjul]]. It is navigable for about half that length.
The river is known largely because of [[The Gambia]], the smallest country in mainland Africa, which consists of little more than the downstream half of the river and its two banks.
From the Fouta Djallon, the river runs northwest into the [[Tambacounda]] province of [[Senegal]], where it flows through the [[Parc National du Niokolo Koba]], then is joined by the [[Nieri Ko]] and [[Koulountou]] before entering The Gambia at [[Fatoto]]. At this point the river runs generally west, but in a meandering course with a number of [[oxbow (lake)|oxbow]]s, and about 100 km from its mouth it gradually widens, to over 10 km wide where it meets the sea.
Near the mouth of the river, near [[Juffure]], is [[James Island (The Gambia)|James Island]], a place used in the [[slave trade]] which is now a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].
== Connection to 'Roots' ==
According to [[Alex Haley]]'s novel ''[[Roots: The Saga of an American Family|Roots]]'', the Gambia River provided one of the clues that helped him trace his American [[family history]] back to Africa. The words "Kamby Bolongo" were among the few words that his family had passed down from generation to generation; he discovered that a ''bolongo'' was a "moving water" or "river" in the [[Mandinka language]], so he concluded that the phrase probably referred to the Gambia River. His theory was confirmed when he traveled to [[Juffure]], The Gambia, on the north bank of the river, and found that their oral family histories complemented his own. The Mandinka language does not have a /g/ phoneme, so the river is therefore pronounced "Kambiya" rather than "Gambia".
==External links==
* [http://www.accessgambia.com/information/gambia-river-info.html Gambia River Information & Photos]
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{{commons2|Gambia River}}
[[Category:Rivers of Guinea]]
[[Category:Rivers of The Gambia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Senegal]]
[[Category:Banjul]]
{{Guinea-geo-stub}}{{Gambia-geo-stub}}{{Senegal-geo-stub}}
[[af:Gambiarivier]]
[[ca:Riu Gàmbia]]
[[cs:Gambie (řeka)]]
[[cy:Afon Gambia]]
[[de:Gambia (Fluss)]]
[[es:Río Gambia]]
[[fr:Gambie (fleuve)]]
[[gl:Río Gambia]]
[[id:Sungai Gambia]]
[[it:Gambia (fiume)]]
[[he:גמביה (נהר)]]
[[sw:Gambia (mto)]]
[[lt:Gambija (upė)]]
[[nl:Gambia (rivier)]]
[[ja:ガンビア川]]
[[no:Gambiaelva]]
[[nn:Gambiaelva]]
[[pl:Gambia (rzeka)]]
[[pt:Rio Gâmbia]]
[[ru:Гамбия (река)]]
[[sk:Gambia (rieka)]]
[[sl:Gambija (reka)]]
[[sr:Гамбија (река)]]
[[fi:Gambia (joki)]]
[[sv:Gambiafloden]]
[[zh:冈比亚河]]