Soils of the lower, middle and upper Senegal River Valley

According to a land classification system developed by people living within the valley, there are four major groups of soils that have naturally lower risk to drought and so have much higher relative value. These are: soils that are flooded by the Senegal River or its major tributaries for several months each year; soils that occur along drains and are flooded for brief periods; soils that occur along the banks of the Senegal River; and soils with high infiltration rates. Other soils were identified that are not presently being cultivated but had very high agricultural value 20 years ago when annual rainfall was much higher. Subsequent sections describe these five important groups of soils. -from Author