
The estuary of the Wouri River
The 'Wouri' (also 'Vouri' or 'Vuri') is a river in
Cameroon. The river is formed at the confluence of the rivers
Ykam and
Makombé, 32 km (20 miles) northeast of the city of
Yabassi. The Wouri then flows about 160 km (100 miles) southeast to its estuary at
Douala, the chief port and industrial city in the southwestern part of Cameroon on the
Gulf of Guinea. The river is navigable about 64 km (40 miles) upriver from Douala.
The Portuguese navigator and explorer
Fernão do Pó or Fernando Poo, is believed to be the first European to explore the estuary of the Wouri, around the year
1472. The explorers noted an abundance of
prawns and
crayfish in the Wouri River and named it ''Rio dos Camarões'', Portuguese for River of Prawns, and the phrase from which Cameroon is derived.
In the 1950s, during the colonial period, the French built a bridge across the river, which connects Douala with the city of
Bonabéri across the river. The bridge is now of great economic importance to western Cameroon, carrying auto, truck, and train traffic. Since 2004 the bridge has been undergoing a major rehabilitation.
Sources
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French Wikipedia
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Encyclopedia Britannica