CHAPTER VIII . 
NIGERIA 
I. THe Rivers, Ports anp Forests or NIGERIA. 
Startine from Lagos, the first port of call, the coast is flat, sandy, 
and low-lying as compared with the typical seaboard of Europe with 
its cliffs. Long sandy beaches with scattered coconut palms in the 
background are more prevalent in this part of Nigeria than the water- 
covered mangrove swamps, showing rather a stunted growth. West- 
wards from Lagos there are the scattered mangrove formations in the 
estuary of the Yewa River, near which is the trading station of Badagri. 
Following the line of the coast, somewhat better mangrove areas are 
found towards the mouth of the Benin, Escravos and Forcados Rivers. 
The estuary of the Niger, extending from the last-named river as far 
as the Sombreiro, shows varied development of the mangrove type of 
vegetation, as well as the first admixture of other hardwood trees at 
the edge of the mangrove zone. On the way one passes the Ramos, 
the Brass, Nun, St. Bartholomew and St. Barbara, each forming outlets 
for the forests further north. Beyond the Sombreiro the estuaries 
of the New Calabar, Cawthorne and Bonny Rivers contain further 
mangrove areas, usually in the form of large islands. Eastwards of 
the Bonny River the mangrove to some extent gives way to compara- 
tively large areas known as rain forests, owing to the comparatively 
heavy rainfall in those localities. The Andoni, Opobo, Kwaiebo 
form the outlets for these forests. 
The Cross, Calabar, Kwa and Akwayefe are the most easterly 
rivers in Nigeria. In the estuary of each, more especially of the Cross 
River, the finest mangrove forests are to be seen. Next to these in 
point of height and straightness of bole are the forests on the banks 
of the St. Barbara and Forcados Rivers. 
The Lagos River, with its present bar-draught of 19 feet, is followed 
eastwards by the port of Forcados, showing 19 feet. As subsidiaries, 
and northwards from Forcados, are the inland ports of Warri and Koko, 
both, and especially the latter, being timber-shipping centres. Sapeli, 
another 40 miles up the Benin River beyond Koko, was and still remains 
a timber port of some importance, and from it the trade name of one 
kind of mahogany, namely Sapeli wood, is derived. Brass, considerably 
further eastward, is practically a seaside port, to which some produce 
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