A Darwin Initiative Project: Biodiversity of Ghana's Rivers

Toolkits for the sustainable management of Ghana’s riverine biodiversity

 

 

Ghana's rivers

Ghana is a lowland country, except for a range of hills on the eastern border containing Ghana's highest point is 2,9000 feet. The coastline is backed by a coastal plain that is crossed by several rivers and streams, generally navigable only by canoe or small boat. In the west the terrain is broken by heavily forested hills and many streams and rivers. In the late 19th century, hardwood forests covered the southern half of Ghana. Considerable portions of these once-extensive forests have now been destroyed by logging and agriculture. To the north lies an undulating savanna country that is drained by the Black and White Volta rivers, which join to form the Volta, which then flows south to the sea through a narrow gap in the hills, where beginning in 1961, the construction of the Akosombo Dam on the Volta formed Lake Volta. The lake covers an area of 8,482 sq km (3,275 sq mi), making it one of the world’s largest artificial lakes. The two major tributaries of the Volta are the Oti and Afram rivers. Together, the rivers drain the Volta Basin. The Volta finally enters the Gulf of Guinea at Ada in southeastern Ghana. The tributaries of the Volta are too large and distant from Accra to be included in this project.

Ghana’s other significant river systems are the Densu, Birim, Pra, and Ankobra. All arise on the south side of the Kwahu Plateau and flow directly into the Gulf of Guinea. Apart from the Volta, only the Pra and the Ankobra rivers have a permanent channel throough the coastal sand dunes, with most of the smaller rivers terminating in brackish lagoons.

The Pra is the easternmost and the largest of the three principal rivers that drain the area south of the Volta divide and enters the Gulf of Guinea east of Takoradi. In the early part of the twentieth century, the Pra was used extensively to float timber to the coast for export. This trade is now carried by road and rail transportation.

A number of rivers are found to the east of the Pra. The two most important are the Densu and Ayensu, which are important as sources of water for Accra and Winneba, respectively.

The main study areas for this project are on the Densu, Birim and Ayensu

 
Site maintained by Victoria Tainton

Original material is Copyright University of Liverpool, 2006, 7

Page last reviewed : 16/01/2007