TheMungo River is a large river inCameroon that drains the mountains in the southern portion of theCameroon line of active and extinct volcanoes.[1]
The Mungo river has a catchment area of 4,200 square kilometres (1,600 sq mi).[2]The river is 150 kilometres (93 mi) long, rising in theRumpi Hills and swelled by tributaries fromMount Kupe and theBakossi Mountains. The river is navigable south ofMundame for about 100 kilometres (62 mi) as it flows through the coastal plain before enteringmangrove swamps, where it splits into numerous small channels that empty into theCameroon estuary complex.[3]The estuary, which is also fed rivers such as theWouri andDibamba, in turn discharges into theGulf of Guinea at Douala Point.[4]Thetidal bores in the bay travels as far as 40 kilometres (25 mi) up the river. In this section of the river, large flats and sand banks are exposed at low tide.[5]
A European visitor said of the lower reaches of the river in 1896: "The banks of the Mungo are magnificently covered with forests ... and everything here teems with life. One can see sea eagles, herons, snakes and monkeys, as well as multicolored parrots on the trees, while on the surface of the water there dance butterflies and dragonflies the size of sparrows. Now and then one hears the trumpeting of elephants, the cry of predators, and the melancholy and monotonous honking of the iguana." He noted that about 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the mouth of the river the forest began to be cleared for cultivation of plantains, cocoyams, corn and sugar cane.[6]
ASwede namedKnut Knutson lived for some years in the upper Mungo valley at a time when the Germans were asserting their claim over the area as a colony.He provides an interesting if somewhat fanciful account of traditions that a "Biaffra" tribe, based on the upper Mungo, once ruled an extensive kingdom stretching as far north asLake Chad and south to theCongo River.[7]Another early European exploration of the river was undertaken by thePolish explorerStefan Szolc-Rogozinski in 1883. He was hoping to establish a free colony for Polish emigrants.[8]
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Towards the end of 1884, after the Germans had established a post atDouala, they ran into trouble with the localDuala chiefs who were encouraged by the British to resist German attempts to open direct trade with the interior.The leader on the Mungo river wasKing Bell, who maintained a blockade for some months but eventually was forced to yield due to disunity among his people and the power of an armed steamboat.[9]Later, the Bell's regained control for a while when the Germans turned their attention to theSanaga River.[10]
When theGerman colony ofKamerun was partitioned afterWorld War I, the Mungo River formed part of the boundary between theFrench andBritish colonies that assumed control.The border also divided the different peoples of the river valley, including theBakossi people, although they continued to maintain close relations across the river.[11]Downstream, near the coast, the Duala andMungo people were similarly divided.
Today, the river forms the boundary between theLittoral and theSouthwest regions of Cameroon.[3]A bridge over the river collapsed in 2004. As of December 2006, work on construction of a replacement bridge was still in progress, and road traffic was meanwhile depending on a floating bridge, or barge.[12]The ecology of the estuary is under threat from growing pollution from industry, farming and households, threatening both fish yields and human health.[4]Notables from Mungo – E.J Embola
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