Ouémé River

The Ouémé River, also spelled Weme is a river in Benin. It rises in the Atakora Mountains, and is about long. It flows past the towns of Carnotville and Ouémé to a large delta on the Gulf of Guinea near the seaport city of Cotonou. The largest tributaries are the Okpara River and the Alpouro River.

Description

Ouémé River is the largest river of the Benin Republic. It is located between 6° 30° and 10° north latitude and 0° 52 'and 3° 05' east longitude. It crosses several agro-ecological zones and feeds downstream, the lagoon system ‘'Lake Nokoué-lagoon of Porto-Novo'’ through a Delta zone. The lower Delta of Ouémé, is located between latitude 6° 33'N and 8° 15 'and the meridians 1° 50' and 2° 00 '. The lower Delta of Ouémé begins after municipality of Adjohoun in the department of Ouémé and ends at the south facade where the river flows into the lagoon complex ‘'Nokoué-Porto-Novo'’. The subequatorial climate type, characterized by two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. On the other hand, its hydrological regime depends on the Sudanian climate with a low water period usually lasts seven months and a flood period . The plant formations along the area are characterized by swamps inhabited by floating plants dominated by water hyacinth, water lily, water lettuce and lemna. There are also undeveloped marshy forests, dominated by the Raphia palm and the oil palm. The part of the valley covered by the water is very productive in fish.