Chari River

The Chari River, sometimes known as the Shari River, is a major tributary of Lake Chad in north-central Africa. It is produced by the Bamingui (its real headstream), the Gribingui, and the Ouham, which contribute the most water to it. It runs through Chad and the Central African Republic. Near Sarh, the Chari is joined on its right bank by the Aouk, Kéita, and Salamat rivers, which flow in a vast floodplain. The Salamat, which rises in Sudan's Darfur, is supplied by the waters of Lake Iro in its middle course.

The river then splits into several branches, which stretch out into a delta before ending at the Chari. The Aouk, which runs through Chad and the Central African Republic, also originates in Darfur and drains a vast swampy plain slowly. Its floods pour into the Chari is a large delta during the dry season, reducing it to a series of stagnant ponds. The Chari flows downstream from Sarh, crossing the Gay Rapids at Niellim, expanding to 3 or 4 miles (5 or 6.5 kilometers), and dividing into various channels in its lower reaches. It meets the Logone to the west in N'Djamena and flows into Lake Chad via various distributaries. The Chari is around 870 kilometers long in total (1,400 km).The Chari basin spans 250,000 square miles (650,000 square kilometers), and the river connects the drainage systems of the Chad interior basin's southern half. During the wet season, steamboats travel more than 530 miles (850 kilometers) along the major river. The Chari was first discovered by Europeans in 1823, when British explorers Dixon Denham, Hugh Clapperton, and Walter Oudney arrived in Lake Chad.

Length: 1.400 km