Sénégal River

Senegal River
(French: Fleuve Sénégal)
River
Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, Senegal
Countries	Senegal, Mauritania, Mali
Mouth
- location	Atlantic Ocean
Length	1,086 km (675 mi)
Basin	337,000 km2 (130,116 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	650 m3/s (22,955 cu ft/s)
Map of the Senegal River drainage basin.

The Senegal River (French: Fleuve Sénégal) is a 1,086 km (675 mi) long river in West Africa that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania.

The Senegal's headwaters are the Semefé (Bakoye) and Bafing rivers which both originate in Guinea; they form a small part of the Guinean-Malian border before coming together at Bafoulabé in Mali. From there, the Senegal river flows west and then north through Talari Gorges near Galougo and over the Gouina Falls, then flows more gently past Kayes, where it receives the Kolimbiné. After flowing together with the Karakoro, it prolongs the former's course along the Mali-Mauritanian border for some tens of kilometers till Bakel where it flows together with the Falémé River, which also has its source in Guinea, subsequently runs along a small part of the Guinea-Mali frontier to then trace most of the Senegal-Mali border up to Bakel. The Senegal further flows through semi-arid land in the north of Senegal, forming the border with Mauritania and into the Atlantic. In Kaedi it accepts the Gorgol from Mauritania. Flowing through Bogué it reaches Richard Toll where it is joined by the Ferlo coming from inland Senegal's Lac de Guiers. It passes through Rosso and, approaching its mouth, around the Senegalese island on which the city of Saint-Louis is located, to then turn south. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a thin strip of sand called the Langue de Barbarie before it pours into the ocean itself.