MAJOR RIVERS IN NIGERIA (a thread)

Twenty eight (28) of Nigeria thirty six (36) states can be accessed through water, with over 250 ethnic groups it is estimated that one quarter of Nigeria's population live in the coastal zone.

10. 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 8 km (5.0 mi) to the south. The river at Calabar forms a natural harbor deep enough for vessels with a draft of 6 metes (20ft).

The Calabar River was once a major source of slaves brought down from the interior to be shipped west in the Atlantic slave trade. Slaving was suppressed by 1860, but the port of Calabar remained important in the export of palm oil and other products, until it was eclipsed by

Port Harcourt in the 1920s. With improved roads into the interior, Calabar has regained importance as a port and is growing rapidly. The tropical rain forest in the Calabar River basin is rapidly being destroyed, and pollution is decreasing fish and shrimp catches in the estuary.

Those that are caught have unsafe levels of contaminants.

Location
The Calabar River drains part of the Oban Hills in the Cross River National Park.[2] The geology of the river basin includes the Pre-Cambrian Oban Massif, Cretaceous sediments of the Calabar flank and the recent Niger Delta sedimentary basin.

The basin is about 43 kilometers (27 mi) wide and 62 kilometers (39 mi) long, with an area of 1,514 square kilometers (585 sq mi). At one time it was entirely covered by tropical rain forest.The region has a rainy season from April until October, during which 80% of the annual

rain falls, with peaks in June and September.Annual rainfall averages 1,830 millimeters (72 in). Average temperatures range from 24 °C (75 °F) in August to 30 °C (86 °F) in February. Relative humidity is high, between 80% and 100%.[3] The basin has 223 streams with a total length

of 516 kilometers (321 mi). This is a small number given the size of the basin.Drainage is poor, so the basin is subject to flooding, gully erosion and landslides. A 2010 study said that flooding had increased in recent years.In1862, the Zoological Society of London received

a description of a new crocodile named Crocodilus frontatus that had been taken from the Old Calabar River, with a much broader head than in Crocodilus vulgaris.A new bat called Sphyrocephalus labrosus was also reported.The river system formed by the Cross River, Calabar.

Great Kwa and other tributaries forms extensive flood plains and wetlands that empty into the Cross River estuary.The system has an estimated area of 54,000 square kilometers (21,000 sq mi)As of 2000 about 8,000 tonnes of fishand 20,000 tonnes of shrimp were being caught annually

Shrimp provide a relatively cheap form of protein to the people of Calabar. The fishermen land their catches at Alepan's beach on the Calabar River, and the catch is sold in the surrounding markets.
The city of Calabar is bounded by the Calabar River to the west, Great Kwa River

to the east and the wetlands of the Cross river estuary to the south. It can only grow to the north, into the Calabar River catchment area, and this has been happening.The Calabar river watershed was originally covered by tropical rain forest. Much has now been replaced by

agriculture, road construction, forestry, industry and housing for the growing population of Calabar.For example, the National Integrated Power Project covers a large area of land besides the Calabar-Itu highway at Ikot Nyong in Odukpani Local Government Area.A study of changes

in land use in the Calabar river catchment between 1967 and 2008 showed that the area covered by high forest decreased by almost 30% during that period. In 1967, high forest covered almost 70% of the basin area. By 2008 it covered less than 40%, mostly in the north. Industrial

quarrying began in the 1980s and now affects a significant area. It may be causing stream dilatation and flooding as well as air and water pollution.The built-up area more than doubled from 3.5% to7.6% of the land area in the study period.Calabar Municipality has no waste treat -

ment facilities. Human wastes and those from cottage industries are dumped in surface sites or into open drains. The torrential rains wash most of the wastes into the Calabar and Great Kwa Rivers.Urban pollution and oil exploration activity in the near shore area both threaten

the ecology of the estuary greatly reducing the numbers and diversity of the species that provide food for shrimps and fish.A 1999 study of fish caught in d Calabar and Kwa rivers and in the estuary showed levels of copper and hydrocarbons were above the World Health Organization

permissible levels in all samples.Iron content was above permissible levels in 20% of samples.The rate of accumulation of hydrocarbons was greater in the wet seasons,probably because of higher levels of contaminated material washed from vehicle maintenance shops by the torrential

rains.
Calabar Municipality and Calabar South had a combined population of 371,000 in 2006.The population of Cross River State has been growing at the rate of about 3% annually since 1991. Growth rates are considerably higher in Calabar city.The state government faces a serious

challenge in accommodating this growth while maintaining income levels and avoiding ecological disaster. (end of thread. for more information on other rivers, please visit our website on http://www.seaempowerment.org ).