Preserve Cultures

Preserve Cultures

The Cavalla River – Complete Introduction

Blue Cavalla River flowing between green land and forests

To know about the Cavalla River? If yes, then keep reading this article because I have explored the river in this piece of writing. After reading this article, you will have much information about the Cavalla River. The information like its geography, dimensions, history of its name, its main branches, and the type of fish that are found in the river, etc.

So, without further waiting, let’s go into the details of the Cavalla River.

The length of the river is 320 miles or 515 kilometers. In Liberia, it is the longest river. The name of the river is deduced from the Cavalla horse mackerel which can be found at its mouth. Also, it is considered the home to an endemic named Chiloglanis Normain.

Geography and History of the Cavalla River

The Cavalla River is located in Liberia, West Africa. It has different names. One of its names is the Cavally and the other is the Youbou also called the Diougou. The river originates from the north of Mont Nimba. The Mont Nimba is situated in Guinea. The river then passes through ivory cost or Cote d’ivory and reaches Zwedru which is a place in Liberia. At the end come back to the Cote d’ivory or Ivory Coast border. Then the river finishes in the Gulf of Guinea which is approximately 13 miles or 21 kilometers that of east of the Harper—a place in Liberia.

It has two major or main tributaries or branches. One is the Duobe and the other is Hana. The Cavalla River flows a surface area of about 30,225 square kilometers or 11670 square miles. The history of its name goes back to the fifteen century. The name Cavalla was suggested by the navigators of Portugal which means horse mackerel which is found at its mouth.

Navigation is possible to Nyaake which is 80 kilometers or 50 miles upstream side.  If we talk about the international boundary, the river makes up two-thirds of the southern boundary between Cote d’ivory and Liberia.

Fishes of the Cavalla River

There are many fishes present in this river. One type of them is Perciform which belongs to the order Perciformes. This is a type of fish group that has similarities with the perches. In vertebrate order, it is the largest. And the group consists of about half of the whole bony type fishes. In the world, it is one of the largest fish groups.

If we talk about the families and species in this group, then it becomes about 150 families in which 6000 or more species are present. The fishes in Perciforms are bony. They exist both in freshwater and marine in large amounts. In freshwater, they are present even in shallow ponds, and in the ocean, they occur at depths of 7500 ft or 2300 meters or more than that.

However, most of Perciforms are present in marine. They usually exist beside the areas adjacent to coasts in temperate and tropical areas of the world.

Conclusion

To sum up, the Cavalla River is the longest river in Liberia, West Africa. It originates from the north of Mont Nimbi, flowing through the ivory coast, Zwedru (Liberia), again comes to the ivory coast border, and then ends in the Gulf of Guinea. The total length is about 320 miles or 515 kilometers. It has two major tributaries—Doube and Hana. It became famous as Cavalla in the 15th century.

The Perciform group of fish is mostly living in the river. The fishes of this group are bony, vertebrate, and one of the largest types in the world. Now, after reading this article, I hope you would have got information about the famous Cavalla River.

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