Cotonou

Sister cities

• Créteil
• Ningbo
• Geneva
• Žilina
• Atlanta
• Lagos
• Taipei
• Abidjan
• Rosny-sous-Bois

History

The name "Cotonou" means "by the river of death" in the Fon language. At the beginning of the 19th century, Cotonou (then spelled "Kutonou") was a small fishing village, and is thought to have been formally founded by King Ghezo of Dahomey in 1830. During the reign of King Glele (1858–89), the territory was ceded to the Second French Empire by a treaty signed in 1878. In 1883, the French Navy occupied the city to prevent British conquest of the area. After Glele's death in 1889, King Béhanzin unsuccessfully tried to challenge the treaty. The town grew rapidly following the building of the harbour in 1908.

Geography

Cotonou is on the coastal strip between Lake Nokoué and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is cut in two by a canal, the lagoon of Cotonou, dug by the French in 1855. Three bridges are in this area. The Ouémé River flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Cotonou. The city has established transportation infrastructure including air, sea, river (to Porto Novo), and land routes that facilitate trade with its neighbors Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Togo. Coastal erosion has been noted for several decades. It worsened in 1961 following construction of the Nangbeto Dam and deep-water port of Cotonou. A pilot project funded by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) revealed that in 40 years, the coast to the east of Cotonou had retreated by 400 meters. This erosion has led many people to leave their homes along the coast.

Most-observed species

• Mudar

  Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T.Aiton · Magnoliopsida
  407
• Christmas Butterfly

  Papilio demodocus Esper, 1798 · Insecta
  105
• Laughing Dove

  Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  87
• Pied Kingfisher

  Ceryle rudis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  73
• Mimic

  Hypolimnas misippus Linnaeus, 1764 · Insecta
  60
• Long-tailed Cormorant

  Microcarbo africanus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  58
• Little Egret/Western Reef-Heron

  Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  57
• Speckled Pigeon

  Columba guinea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  56

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2009-09-11
  13 km NNE of Abomey-Calavi, Benin