There appears to be no elevation that could be fitly described 

 as a mountain, although in certain parts the land rises to a height 

 of 3,000 ft. or so above sea level. 



Rivers and Waterways. 



The water courses are very numerous. In the western province 

 there are no oceanic rivers of any importance, but near the coast 

 there is an extensive system of lagoons and creeks, fed by the 

 rivers Ogun, Odo-Ona, Oshun, Oni, and several smaller streams. 



The most extensive lagoons are the Lagos and Lekki. The latter, 

 which is about 30 miles long by 15 miles broad in its widest part, 

 is a beautiful sheet of water dotted with forest-covered islands. 

 The only opening for steamers of shallow draft is at Lagos, 

 although small craft can sail through these lagoons from the 

 western limit of the province to the Benin river, a distance of 

 more than 200 miles. Passengers for Lagos are transferred from 

 the ocean-going steamers to branch boats in Lagos roads, and 

 cargo is transhipped in Forcados river. 



To the eastward, the coast line of the central and eastern 

 provinces is one long series of river mouths. These rivers are 

 navigable by ocean-going steamers for certain distances, and all 

 of them are more or less connected with each other by an 

 extensive system of creeks which can be navigated by means of 

 launches or canoes as far, at least, as the Opobo river. 



The Benin river is the first of the series. Steamers drawing 

 more than 10 or 12 ft. of water cannot enter by the mouth, but 

 large steamers can proceed to Sapele through the creek from the 

 Forcados river. The river Escravos has a shallow bar. The 

 Forcados river is navigable along the Warri branch to Warri (a 

 distance of about 50 miles) for large steamers, and for smaller 

 craft through the Warri creek to the Niger of which river it 

 forms one of the principal outlets. The rivers Ramos, Dodo, 

 Penington and Middleton all have bars which do not admit the 

 passage of vessels drawing more than 8-10 ft. of water. The Nun 

 is the principal outlet of the Niger, which is the largest river in the 

 Colony. The Niger is navigable in the rainy season for large 

 steamers as far as Jebba (a distance of about 450 miles), but in the 

 dry season only as far as Lokoja (about 250 miles) though vessels 

 of shallow draft can go about as far as Mureji near the Kaduna 

 river and from there onwards navigation is only possible by canoe. 

 The Brass river has a shallow bar, but some ocean vessels can 

 cross with safety. The St. Nicholas, St. Barbara, St. Bartholomew 

 and Sombreiro all have bars too shallow to allow the passage of 

 ocean steamers. The Bonny river is navigable only for a short 

 distance from the sea (the town of Bonny is 8 miles from the 

 mouth). The Andoni has a shallow bar, and the Opobo a shallow 

 but navigable bar. The Kwa-obo entrance, suitable for small 

 steamers only, and the Calabar estuary into which the Cross 

 river the Akwayafe and Qwa rivers flow before reaching the sea, 

 complete the series. The Cross river is sometimes regarded 

 as the principal outlet and the other rivers as tributaries; this 

 would appear to be the more correct view, as the Cross river 

 is by far the largest of the group. Large steamers can get 



