The river is strongly associated with The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa, which occupies the downstream half of the river and its two banks.
The Gambia River runs a total length of 1,120 kilometres (700 mi). From the Fouta Djallon, it runs northwest into theTambacounda Region of Senegal, where it flows through theParc National du Niokolo Koba, then is joined by theNieri Ko andKoulountou [fr] and passing through theBarrakunda Falls before entering the Gambia at Koina. At this point, the river runs generally west, but in a meandering course with a number ofoxbows, and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from its mouth it gradually widens, to over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) wide where it meets the sea.
There are several bridges crossing the river. The largest and furthest downriver is theSenegambia Bridge between the towns ofFarafenni andSoma inThe Gambia. Opened in January 2019, it provides a link between the stretches of theTrans-Gambia Highway on the North and South Bank of the river. It also provides an expedited connection for Senegalese trucks traveling to and from the isolatedCasamance province. The bridge is 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and replaces a previously-unreliable vehicle ferry. A toll is levied on vehicle crossings.
There are also bridges in theUpper River Region of The Gambia atBasse Santa Su andFatoto that opened in October 2021,[2] as well as a bridge in Senegal at Gouloumbou.
All other crossings are done by ferry, including a primary crossing betweenBanjul andBarra at the mouth of the river, or by small boat.
Small tributaries on the lower stretches of the river are commonly referred to asbolongs orbolons. These include Sami Bolong, dividing the northern halves of theCentral River Division andUpper River Division, Bintang Bolong dividing theLower River Division from theWest Coast Division, as well as smaller bodies of water such as the Sofancama, Jurunku, Kutang, Nianji, and Sandugu bolongs.[3]
The earliest known inhabitants of the area along the Gambia river include theJola, theBalante, theBainuk, and theManjak.[4] TheCarthaginian explorerHanno the Navigator may have reached the Gambia during his expedition in the fifth century BC.[5]
According to oral tradition, large numbers ofMandinka immigrants fromMali led byTiramakhan Traore, one ofSundiata's top generals, came to the region in the 14th century. Some modern historians, however, posit that relatively few immigrants, primarilyjula traders, instead led a gradual socio-cultural shift towards identification with the higher-status Mandinka ethnicity and the rulingMali Empire.[6][7] Thesejula made the Gambia an important part of the wider West African trade network, where salt, shellfish, iron, cloth, ivory, beeswax, gold, slaves, leather and more were exchanged as far as the Niger River and beyond.[8][9]
Alvise Cadamosto, aVenetian explorer working for thePortuguese, became the first European to sail to the Gambia in 1455, referring to the river as theGambra orCambra. Other sources from that period record names such asGuambea,Guabu, andGambu (possibly a conflation, at the time or in later historiography, of the name of the river and the kingdom ofKaabu).[10] While merchants of various European countries traded on the Gambia river for two centuries after Cadamosto, theDuchy of Courland and Semigallia was the first to establish a permanent base, on what they calledSt Andrew's Island in 1651. After taking control of the island and renaming it 'St James' in 1661, the English vied with the French for commercial domination of the river for the next century and a half.[11]
Around the turn of the 18th century, the Scottish explorerMungo Park traveled up the Gambia twice on his way to the Niger River.[12]
TheAnglo-French Convention of 1889 delimited the borders of theGambia Protectorate and the colony ofSenegal as being ten kilometers north and south of the river as far inland as Yarbutenda (near modern-day Koina), with a 10km radius to mark the eastern border measured from the center of town.[13] The British therefore controlled the river as far as it was navigable by sea-going vessels. Though widely seen as temporary at the time, the borders set in 1889 have remained unchanged ever since.[14]
The aquatic fauna in the Gambia Riverbasin is closely associated with that of theSenegal River basin, and the two are usually combined under a singleecoregion known as theSenegal-Gambia Catchments. Although thespecies richness is moderately high, only three species of frogs and one fish areendemic to this ecoregion.[15]
Oysters are harvested from the River Gambia by women and used to makeoyster stew, a traditional dish in thecuisine of Gambia.
^"Kunta Kinteh Island and Related Sites". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Accessed 14/8/22.
^Capt. Washington. "Some Account of Mohammedu-Siseï, a Mandingo, of Nyáni-Marú on the Gambia." The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, vol. 8, 1838, pp. 448–54. JSTOR,https://doi.org/10.2307/1797825. Accessed 27 Jul. 2022.
Bühnen, Stephan. "Place Names as an Historical Source: An Introduction with Examples from Southern Senegambia and Germany." History in Africa, vol. 19, 1992. JSTOR,https://doi.org/10.2307/3171995.
Gailey, Harry (1987).Historical dictionary of the Gambia. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press.ISBN0810820013.
Gray, J.M. (1940). History of the Gambia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hughes, Arnold; Perfect, David (2008).Historical Dictionary of The Gambia. African Historical Dictionaries. Vol. 109 (4th ed.). Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press.ISBN9781442265226.
Wright, Donald R. "Beyond Migration and Conquest: Oral Traditions and Mandinka Ethnicity in Senegambia." History in Africa, vol. 12, 1985. JSTOR,https://doi.org/10.2307/3171727.
Wright, Donald R. "Darbo Jula: The Role of a Mandinka Jula Clan in the Long-Distance Trade of the Gambia River and Its Hinterland." African Economic History, no. 3, 1977, pp. 33–45. JSTOR,https://doi.org/10.2307/3601138. Accessed 27 Jul. 2022.
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