Gambia

A 19th-century illustration of two men being taken captive to be sold as slaves in the Gambia. Millions of Africans were sent to North and South America to work as slaves in the 17th–19th centuries.

River in western Africa, 1,000 km/620 mi long, which gives its name to The Gambia. It rises in Guinea and flows west through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean.

The river rises in the Fouta Djallon of Guinea, flowing in its upper reaches through Senegal, and then through a narrow corridor of land to the north and south of the river which forms the basis of The Gambia. Formerly an important route to the interior of West Africa, the river remains navigable for small river craft for 480 km/298 mi; it is navigable for ocean-going vessels as far as Kau-Ur in The Gambia. The river flows into the Atlantic at Banjul.