A major attraction for the visitor to The Gambia, this great West African River rises in the Futa Jallon highlands nearly a thousand river miles away in the Republic of Guinea.

It crosses Eastern Senegal before entering Gambian territory some 300 miles (480 Kilometers) inland. In The Gambia, the river is the dominating features and provides both a useful means of transportation and irrigation as well as a rich ground for fishing, boating and sailing.

The River Gambia is several miles wide at its mouth near Cape St. Mary and has a bar with a depth of 27 feet (8. 1 Meters).
It narrows to three miles (4.8 Kilometers) at Banjul where the ferry to Barra operates.
Ocean-going vessels up to about 3,000 gross registered (241 Kilometers) to Kuntaur. The River is also navigable to steamers for 140 miles (225 Kilometers) farther upstream.

For the first 80 Miles (129 kilometers) inland from Banjul, The River Gambia is fringed with mangrove-covered banks, which give way to red ironstone cliffs crowned with a tangle of green vegetation.
Farther up river, the ironstone cliffs give way to banks of waving grass and parklands.
The whole river and the numerous creeks (locally known as 'Bolons') which join it, are fascinating to the bird lover and the student of nature: Hippopotami, Crocodiles and Dog-faced baboons are often seen.

In the past, The River's fame lay in the fact that, for sailing vessels, it was navigable at least as far as the country's eastern boundary. It is one of the finest waterways in West Africa.
More recently, it has become the target for government development plans including an extension to the Port of Banjul.
Fisheries development, Hydrological Surveys, a rice development project and even a feasibility survey for a bridge-barrage building program at the Trans-Gambia Ferry crossing near Farafenni. The Bridge-Barrage Project is to be a joint venture by the Senegalese and Gambian Governments.

In addition to Ferries, ships and cutters loaded with groundnuts, the country's main export crop, can be seen plying up and down the River, and dugout canoes used by fishermen are also a common sight, Their existence, however, does not diminish the serene, tranquil beauty of the Great River flowing majestically westward into the Atlantic Ocean. Like there forerunners, the men-of-war and the slave ships which fought battles and went this way in years, these river craft only add to the Gambia's colourful beauty.