<Tr> <Td> - average </Td> <Td> 5,589 m / s (197,374 cu ft / s) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> - max </Td> <Td> 27,600 m / s (974,685 cu ft / s) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> - min </Td> <Td> 500 m / s (17,657 cu ft / s) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Niger River (/ ˈnaɪdʒər /; French: (le) fleuve Niger, pronounced ((lə) flœv niʒɛʁ)) is the principal river of West Africa, extending about 4,180 km (2,600 mi). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km (817,600 sq mi) in area . Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea . It runs in a crescent through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta or the Oil Rivers, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean . The Niger is the third - longest river in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile and the Congo River (also known as the Zaïre River). Its main tributary is the Benue River . </P>

What is the importance of the niger river to africa