Sénégal

Sénégal, river in western Africa, forming the boundary between Senegal and Mauritania. The river is about 1,610 km (1,000 mi) in length. It has two main sources, the Bafing and the Bakoyre, which meet at Bafoulabé, in Mali. From there the Sénégal flows north-west, west, and south-west, reaching the Atlantic Ocean near the island of St-Louis, Senegal. The river is navigable from the Atlantic Ocean to Podor, Senegal (about 175 km/110 mi), all year long, and to Kayes, Mali, during the rainy season. The Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, is located in the Sénégal River delta and creates a unique wetland habitat for 1.5 million birds; it was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2000 because of the invasion of a destructive water plant, Salvinia molesta, which threatened to devastate the environment. However, by 2006 biocontrol measures had eradicated the threat, allowing the environment to recover sufficiently for the site to be removed from the Danger List.