Geography of Burkina Faso

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Burkina Faso has a total area of 274,200 km² (105,870 sq mi), of which 273,800 km² (105,710 sq mi) is land and 400 km² (150 sq mi) water. Comparatively, it is slightly larger than New Zealand and Colorado. Its borders total 3,611 kilometres (2,244 mi): Benin 386 kilometres (240 mi), Ivory Coast 545 kilometres (339 mi), Ghana 602 kilometres (374 mi), Mali 1,325 kilometres (823 mi), Niger 622 kilometres (386 mi), and Togo 131 kilometres (81 mi). It has no coastline or maritime claims.

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of Burkina Faso, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

• Northernmost point – unnamed location on the border with Mali, Sahel Region
• Easternmost point – unnamed location on the border with Benin immediately south of the Burkina Faso-Benin-Niger tripoint, Est Region
• Southernmost point – unnamed location on the border with
  Sud-Ouest Region
• Westernmost point – the tripoint with Mali and Ivory Coast, Cascades Region

Terrain

It is made up of two major types of countryside. The larger part of the country is covered by a

Administrative divisions

The country is divided into 13 administrative regions. These regions encompass 45 provinces and 351 departments.

Hydrography

The country owes its former name of Upper Volta to three rivers which cross it: the Black Volta (or Mouhoun), the White Volta (Nakambé) and the Red Volta (Nazinon). The Black Volta is one of the country's only two rivers which flow year-round, the other being the Komoé, which flows to the southwest. The basin of the Niger River also drains 27% of the country's surface.

The Niger's tributaries – the Béli, the Gorouol, the Goudébo and the Dargol – are seasonal streams and flow for only four to six months a year. They still, however, can cause large floods. The country also contains numerous lakes – the principal ones are Tingrela, Bam and Dem. The country contains large ponds, as well, such as Oursi, Béli, Yomboli and Markoye. Water shortages are often a problem, especially in the north of the country.

Climate

Burkina Faso has a primarily tropical climate with two very distinct seasons. In the rainy season, the country receives between 600 and 900 millimetres (23.6 and 35.4 in) of rainfall; in the dry season, the harmattan – a hot dry wind from the Sahara – blows. The rainy season lasts approximately four months, May/June to September, and is shorter in the north of the country. Three climatic zones can be defined: the Sahel, the Sudan-Sahel, and the Sudan-Guinea. The Sahel in the north typically receives less than 600 millimeters (24 inches) of rainfall per year and has high temperatures, 5–47 degrees Celsius (41–117 degrees Fahrenheit).

A relatively dry tropical savanna, the Sahel extends beyond the borders of Burkina Faso, from the Horn of Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, and borders the Sahara to its north and the fertile region of the Sudan to the South. Situated between 11°3' and 13°5' north latitude, the Sudan-Sahel region is a transitional zone with regards to rainfall and temperature. Further to the south, the Sudan-Guinea zone receives more than 900 millimeters (35 inches) of rain each year and has cooler average temperatures.

Resources and environment

Burkina Faso's natural resources include manganese, limestone, marble, phosphates, pumice, salt and small deposits of

• 2010 Sahel famine
• Category:Treaties of Burkina Faso

Notes

Line note references

 This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook.

External links

• Soil Maps of Burkina Faso European Digital Archive on the Soil Maps of the world