Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/215

 FLORA OF GAMBIA. I73 Noirot, lie to the north of Labo, G miUvs from the large village of Tunturun, and close to the hamlet of Ort^-Dimnia, or " Head of the Diinnia," us the Fuhihs call the Gambia throughout its >vhole course. About a mile north of this point is a little reservoir forming the source of the Comba, which appears to be the farthest headstream of the Ilio-Grando, the chief fluvial basin south of the Gambia. The plateau whence both rivers flow seawards has an altitude of about 3,800 feet. After flowing east of the Futa-Jallou highlands for 120 miles northwards, the Gambia sweeps round to the west, forcing its way through a series of gorges down to the plains. At JSillakunda, above the last gorge, the channel, averaging 1,000 feet in width, still stands at an elevation of 500 feet. Even after reach in"- the plains its extremely tortuous course is interrupted by some boulders and ledges, such as the sill of Barra-Kunda, over 270 miles above the estuary. This point is accessible to light craft, during the dry season, the most favourable for navigation, the current being then weakest. But usually deep-sea vessels stop much lower down, opposite MacCarthy Island, 170 miles from the mouth, where the tide is still felt in the dry period. The mean discharge has not been accurately measured, but it is known greatly to exceed that of the Senegal, regard being had to the much smaller extent of its basin. But here the rainfall is heavier and more fre- quent, the period, espocially from July to September, being very wet. On August 9, 1861, there occurred a downpour of 9 inches in twenty-four hours, and in the same year two others of over 3 inches each. But despite the large volume of fresh water rolled dowit froni the upper reaches, the Lower Gambia is an estuary rather than a river, an inlet of brackish or salt water. Above the mouth its banks are over 6 miles apart, although the mouth itself is only 2 J miles wide, with a mean depth of 05 feet. Here the largest vessels can easily ride at anchor, fcr the bar, which has still 80 feet at low water, lies some 12 miles off the coast. Several winding branches penetrate far inland, one of which, Oyster Creek, shows by its very name that it is not a fluvial but a marine channel. Other tortuous creeks penetrate through the wooded alluvial tracts northwards to the Salum estuary. Flora and Fauna. Above the low-lying tracts about the estuary, the land assumes the appearance of a pleasant verdant region, gently undulating and dotted over with those clumps of trees and green thickets which have caused travellers to compare so many African landscapes to English parks. The riverain plains are much more wooded than those of the Senegal, presenting a far greater number of different species, such as the baobabs, several varieties of i)alm, and the remarkable shea, or butter-tree. But in many places the woodlands are diversitled with savannahs, where the grasses grow to a height of over 20 feet. Wild beasts still hold their ground within a short distance ot the linglish settlements; lions prowl about the outskirts of the villages, and the deep foot- prints of the elephants are constantly met along the muddy tracks. At the end of