Logone River

The Logon or Logone River is a major tributary of the Chari River. The Logone's sources are located in the western Central African Republic, northern Cameroon, and southern Chad. It has two major tributaries. The Pendé River (Eastern Logone) in the prefecture Ouham-Pendé in the Central African Republic and the Mbéré River (Western Logone) at the east of Cameroon.[2] Many swamps and wetlands surround the river.

Logone River
The Logone-Birni, from the book The earth and its inhabitants, Africa 1892
Map showing the Logone River within the Chari River drainage basin
Location
Countries
CityKousséri
Physical characteristics
Source 
  locationCentral African Republic
Mouth 
  location
Chari River at N'Djaména, Chad
  coordinates
12°6′22″N 15°2′7″E
  elevation
364 m (1,194 ft)
Length1,000 km (620 mi)
Basin size78,000 km2 (30,000 sq mi)
Discharge 
  average492 m3/s (17,400 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Protection status
Official namePlaines d'inondation du Logone et les dépressions Toupouri
Designated14 November 2005
Reference no.1560[1]

Settlements on the river include Kousseri, Cameroon's northernmost city, and Chad's capital city, N'Djaména, which is located at the spot where the Logone empties into the Chari River.

The Logone forms part of the international border between Chad and Cameroon.

Hydrometry

The flow of the river has been observed over 38 years (1951–84) in Bongor a town in Chad downstream of the union with the Pendé about 450 km (280 mi) above the mouth into the Chari.[3] The Bongor observed average annual flow during this period was 492 m3/s (17,400 cu ft/s) fed by an area of about 73.7 km2 (28.5 sq mi) approximately 94.5% of the total catchment area of the River. Due to the strong evaporation, the amount of water flowing into the estuary decreases. In N'Djamena, the flow reduces to 400 m3/s (14,000 cu ft/s).

The average monthly flow of the river Logone at hydrological station of Bongor (in m3 / s )
(Calculated using the data for a period of 38 years, 1948–86)

Population

In the eastern lower Logone valley formed out of the Kotoko population several historic sultanates (Kousseri, Logone-Birni, Makari-Goulfey and others) which were vassals of the Bornu or Baguirmi inside the borders of modern-day Cameroon.

History

In Chad, the administrative regions Logone Oriental and Logone Occidental named after the river. Ober-Logone was an administrative district of the German colony of Cameroon.

River Logone, Cameroon
Logone on the border between Cameroon and Chad. January 2013.

September 2013 dam failure and flood

On the night of September 17 to September 18, 2013, heavy rains caused a rupture of the dam along the Logone River at the town of Dougui, Kai Kai District in the Far North Region of Cameroon. This caused initial evacuations of people to the banks of the dam. On September 27, a second rupture in the dam 4 km (2.5 mi) from the first rupture started flooding the area and nearly 9,000 people were displaced.[4]

References

  1. "Plaines d'inondation du Logone et les dépressions Toupouri". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. "Logone River | river, Africa". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  3. GRDC - Chari Basin : Der Logone in Bongor
  4. "Cameroon: Floods - Oct 2013". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
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