Editing Senegal River (section)

== Geography ==
[[File:Senegal River Saint Louis.jpg|thumb|Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of [[Saint-Louis, Senegal]]]]
The Senegal's [[headwater]]s are the [[Semefé River|Semefé]] (Bakoye) and [[Bafing River|Bafing]] rivers which both originate in [[Guinea]]; they form a small part of the [[Guinea–Mali 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 River|Kolimbiné]]. After flowing together with the [[Karakoro River|Karakoro]], it prolongs the former's course along the [[Mali–Mauritania border]] for some tens of kilometers till [[Bakel, Senegal|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 Ocean|Atlantic]]. In [[Kaedi]] it accepts the [[Gorgol River|Gorgol]] from Mauritania. Flowing through [[Boghé]] 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, Senegal|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.

The river has two large [[dam]]s along its course, the multi-purpose [[Manantali Dam]] in Mali and the [[Maka-Diama Dam]] downstream on the Mauritania-Senegal border, near the outlet to the sea, preventing access of [[Seawater|salt water]] [[Source (river or stream)|upstream]]. In between Manantali and Maka-Diama is the [[Félou Hydroelectric Plant]] which was originally completed in 1927 and uses a [[weir]]. The power station was replaced in 2014. In 2013, construction of the [[Gouina Hydroelectric Plant]] upstream of Felou at [[Gouina Falls]] began.

The Senegal River has a [[drainage basin]] of {{Convert|270,000|km2|abbr=on|comma=gaps}}, a mean flow of {{Convert|680|m3/s|abbr=on|comma=gaps}}, and an annual discharge of {{Convert|21.5|km3|abbr=on}}.<ref name=whycos>{{citation | title=SENEGAL-HYCOS: Renforcement des capacités nationales et régionales d'observation, transmission et traitement de données pour contribuer au développement durable du bassin du Fleuve Sénégal (Document de projet préliminaire) | publisher=Système Mondial d’Observation du Cycle Hydrologique (WHYCOS) | url=http://www.whycos.org/IMG/pdf/Senegal_HYCOS_september_2007.pdf | year=2007 | language=fr | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228165424/http://www.whycos.org/IMG/pdf/Senegal_HYCOS_september_2007.pdf | archive-date=28 December 2013 | df=dmy-all }}.</ref><!--actually p3--><ref>[http://www.grdc.sr.unh.edu/html/Polygons/P1812100.html UNH/GRDC Composite Runoff Fields V 1.0 data for Dagana].</ref> Important [[tributary|tributaries]] are the [[Falémé River]], [[Karakoro River]], and the [[Gorgol River]].

Downstream of [[Kaédi]] the river divides into two branches. The left branch called the [[Doué River|Doué]] runs parallel to the main river to the north. After {{Convert|200|km|abbr=on}} the two branches rejoin a few kilometres downstream of [[Pondor]]. The long strip of land between the two branches is called the [[Morfil|Île á Morfil]].<ref name=whycos/><!--actually p5-->

In 1972 Mali, Mauritania and Senegal founded the [[Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal]] (OMVS) to manage the river basin. [[Guinea]] joined in 2005.

At the present time, only very limited use is made of the river for the transport of goods and passengers. The OMVS have looked at the feasibility of creating a navigable channel {{Convert|55|m|abbr=on}} in width between the small town of [[Ambidédi]] in Mali and [[Saint-Louis, Senegal|Saint-Louis]], a distance of {{Convert|905|km|abbr=on}}. It would give landlocked Mali a direct route to the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name=whycos/><!--page 20-->

The aquatic fauna in the Senegal River basin is closely associated with that of the [[Gambia River]] basin, and the two are usually combined under a single [[ecoregion]] known as the [[List of freshwater ecoregions in Africa and Madagascar#Nilo-Sudan|Senegal-Gambia Catchments]]. Although the [[species richness]] is moderately high, only three species of frogs and one fish are [[Endemism|endemic]] to this ecoregion.<ref>Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (2008). ''[http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=509 Senegal-Gambia.]'' Accessed 2 May 2011.</ref>