Lifeline Of 50 Million by Dieter Blum

Lifeline Of 50 Million

Nature, Honorable Mention prize stories

1984

The Niger river is a lifeline of more than 50 million people. The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about 4,180 km (2,600 mi). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km² (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.

Photo Credit: Dieter Blum

Dieter Blum began his career as a photographer at a young age. Since 1964 he has worked freelance for magazines such as Der Spiegel, Stern, Time, and Vanity fair. He became known to a wider public in particular through his images for a global advertising campaign for Marlboro cigarettes. For more than 20 years Blum has devoted his work to the themes of music, dance, and art.