Cross River (Nigeria)
Encyclopedia
Cross River is the main river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in southeastern Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 and gives its name to Cross River State
Cross River State
Cross River State is a coastal state in southeastern Nigeria, bordering Cameroon to the east. Its capital is at Calabar, and it is named for the Cross River , which passes through the state...

.
It originates in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

, where it takes the name of the Manyu River
Manyu River
The Manyu River rises near Wabane in the Upper Banyang Subdivision of the Manyu Department of the Southwest Region, Cameroon.The river runs past the southern border of the Mone River Forest Reserve. Below Mamfe, it is joined by rivers draining the Takamanda Forest Reserve and the Cross River...

.
Although not long by African standards its catchment
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 has high rainfall and it becomes very wide. Over its last 80 km to the sea its flows through swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

y rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 with numerous creeks
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 and forms an inland delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

 near its confluence with the Calabar River
Calabar River
The Calabar River in Cross River State, Nigeria flows from the north past the city of Calabar, joining the larger Cross River about to the south. The river at Calabar forms a natural harbor deep enough for vessels with a draft of ....

, about 20 km wide and 50 km long between the cities of Oron
Oron, Nigeria
The Oron people are comprised in five Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The Oron are the third largest ethnic group in the state, and Bakassi LGA in Cross River State. The five Local Councils in Akwa Ibom are Oron, Udung-Uko, Mbo, Urue-Offong/Oruko, and Okobo...

 on the west bank and Calabar
Calabar
Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The original name for Calabar was Atakpa, from the Jukun language....

, on the east bank, more than 30 km from the open sea. The delta empties into a broad estuary which it shares with a few smaller rivers. At its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 the estuary is 24 km wide. The eastern side of the estuary is in the neighbouring country of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

.

The major tributary of cross river is the river Aloma coming from Benue State
Benue State
Benue is a state in the Middle-Belt region of Nigeria with a population of about 2.8 million in 1991. Tiv, Idoma, and Igede are spoken predominantly. There are other ethnic groups as well. These include Etulo and Abakwa...

 to merge with the cross river in cross river state.
Cross River State is connected with a major highway to its sister state Akwa Ibom
Akwa Ibom
Akwa Ibom is a state in Nigeria named after the Qua Iboe river. It is located in the coastal South-Southern part of the country, lying between latitudes 4°321 and 5°331 North, and longitudes 7°251 and 8°251 East...

. The distance between Oron and Calabar is 21 km by boat and about 200 km by road. The population of the lower Cross River traditionally use water transport and Calabar has long had a major seaport, located in the Calabar River
Calabar River
The Calabar River in Cross River State, Nigeria flows from the north past the city of Calabar, joining the larger Cross River about to the south. The river at Calabar forms a natural harbor deep enough for vessels with a draft of ....

 about 10 km from its confluence with the Cross River and about 55 km from the sea. The Itu bridge on the Cross River is located along Ikom-Calabar highway and is reported to be one of the landmark achievements of the Gowon
Yakubu Gowon
General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon was the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another...

 administration when it was completed in 1975.

The Cross River forms a boundary between two tropical moist forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome....

 ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

s, the Cross-Niger transition forests
Cross-Niger transition forests
The Cross-Niger transition forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southeastern Nigeria, located between the Niger River on the west and the Cross River on the east...

 which lie west of the river, between the Cross and Niger
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...

 Rivers, and the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests
Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests
The Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of west-central Africa. This is lush forest rich in flora and birdlife.-Location and description:...

, which lie to the east between the Cross River and the Sanaga River
Sanaga River
The Sanaga River is a river of South Province, Cameroon, Centre Province, Cameroon, and West Province, Cameroon. Its length is 890 kilometers.The Sanaga River forms a boundary between two tropical moist forest ecoregions...

 of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

.

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