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The Rokel River (also Seli River; previously Pamoronkoh River) is the largest river in the Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa.

River course

Rokel rises in the 900 metres (3,000 ft) high interior plateau of the Loma Mountains, in the Guinea Highlands of north central Leone, flows southwest about 240 miles (390 km) through hill ranges and, together with a smaller, parallel stream called Port Loko Creek, feeds into the Rokel estuary before entering the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary is also called the Sierra Leone River. The estuary is 25 miles in length and has a width varying from 4-10 miles. Freetown and Papel are the two ports located on the shores of the estuary.

Mangrove swamps are noted around the river's ria. The river basin measures 10,622 square kilometres (4,101 sq mi) in size, with the drainage divided by the Gbengbe and Kabala hills and the Sula Mountains. The Rokel drops 15 metres (49 ft) at the Bumbuna waterfalls. Sierra Leone's capital city of Freetown lies at the entrance to the Sierra Leone River, about 25 miles (40 km) downstream from the mouth of the Rokel and Port at Pepel.

History

Iron ore and alluvial gold mining began in the late 1920s and early 1930s, while the Bumbuna Falls hydroelectric project is underway. The Yalunka people established their capital, Falaba, near the source of the Rokel. Sierra Leone's equivalent of the British knighthood is called "Order of the Rokel."

References

1. ^ Bird, Eric (8 April 2010). Encyclopedia of the World's Coastal Landforms. Springer. pp. 933–. ISBN 978-1-4020-8638-0.
2. "Rokel River". Encyclopedia Brittanica. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
3. "Sierra Leone River". Encyclopedia Brittanica. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
4. ^ Brebbia, C. A.; Popov, V. (1 April 2013). Food and Environment II: The Quest for a Sustainable Future. WIT Press. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-1-84564-703-2.
5. Shillington, Kevin (2004). Encyclopedia of African History. CRC Press. pp. 922–. ISBN 978-1-57958-245-6.

8°33′N 12°48′W / 8.55°N 12.80°W / 8.55; -12.80

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