[7] Although not long by African standards its catchment has high rainfall and it becomes very wide.

The delta empties into a broad estuary[9] which it shares with a few smaller rivers.

At its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean, the estuary is 24 kilometres (15 mi) wide.

The Itu bridge on the Cross River is along Itu-Calabar highway and is reported to be one of the landmark achievements of the Gowon administration when it was completed in 1975.

[13] The Cross River Region is of great historical importance, being a) within the likely homeland from which Bantu speaking people migrated across most of Sub-Saharan Africa 3000–5000 years ago, b) the location of where the Nsibidi Script was created, and c) the location of Calabar, one of the largest centers during the Atlantic slave trade.