At 4,180 km long it stands as the third longest river in Africa, the only rivers longer than it is the Nile and the Congo, which is also known as the Zaire.

Unlike the Nile that is unclear, the Niger is clear over the whole course. This is attributed to an absence of silt.

The river gives the countries of Nigeria and Niger their names.

The river floods annually, the flooding season begins in September and ends in May.

The source of the river is the Guinea highlands located in Southeastern Guinea.

The river’s main tributary is the Benue River.

The flow of this river has been described as unusual. It begins flowing 150 miles away from the Atlantic Ocean but instead of going straight to the Ocean it curves inwards flowing through the countries of Mali, Niger, Benin, and Nigeria then finally discharges through the Niger Delta/Oil Rivers into the Gulf of Guinea.

The Scottish Explorer, Mungo Park, was the first known Westerner to travel through the course of the Niger. He did so in the year 1796.

The river has thirty-six families of freshwater fish and nearly 250 fish species, twenty of these are found nowhere else on the planet.