Cross River (of which its native name is
Oyono) is the main
river in southeastern
Nigeria and gives its name to
Cross River State. It originates in
Cameroon, where it takes the name of the
Manyu River. Although not long by African standards its
catchment has high rainfall and it becomes very wide. Over its last to the sea its flows through
swampy rainforest with numerous
creeks and forms an
inland delta near its confluence with the
Calabar River, about wide and long between the cities of
Oron on the west bank and
Calabar, on the east bank, more than from the open sea. The delta empties into a broad estuary which it shares with a few smaller rivers. At its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean, the estuary is wide. The eastern side of the estuary is in the neighbouring country of Cameroon.