Volta River
This article is missing information about the name of the river in local languages.(August 2022) |
Volta River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Countries | |
Physical characteristics | |
Mouth | Gulf of Guinea |
• location | Atlantic Ocean |
• coordinates | 5°46′N 0°41′E / 5.767°N 0.683°E[1] |
Length | 1,500 km (930 mi) |
Basin size | 407,093 km2 (157,179 sq mi)[2] |
Discharge | |
• location | Mouth[3] |
• average | 1,210 m3/s (43,000 cu ft/s)[3] |
The Volta River (
The country of Burkina Faso was formerly called Upper Volta, after the river.
The reservoir
Lake Volta is a reservoir impounded by the
The dam's
The depth of the river is about 45 feet (14 m) below Lake Volta. The Volta River is crossed by the
History
The Akwamu people who once built a kingdom in both east and west banks of the river spanning present day Ghana, Togo and Benin call it Firaw. They have a deity dedicated to the river named Mfodwo.[5]
The Volta River was named by Portuguese gold traders in Ghana. It was their farthest extent of exploration before returning (volta is Portuguese for "twist" or "turn").[6] "River of return" (perhaps because it was where ships turned around and headed for home) or “river of the bend”, in reference to its curved course.[6][7]
See also
- Impacts of the Akosombo Hydroelectric Project — environmental and human health issues from the Akosombo Dam and Lake Volta.
References
- ^ Volta at GEOnet Names Server
- ^ Volta Archived 2005-10-26 at the Wayback Machine, Watersheds of the World. Water Resources eAtlas. Retrieved on October 6, 2007.
- ^ a b Volta River, Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. Retrieved on October 6, 2007.
- ^ "Lake Volta, Ghana". Visible Earth. NASA. 7 April 2002. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- .
- ^ a b Volta - etymology
- ^ Wilks, Ivor (1997). "Wangara, Akan, and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries". In Bakewell, Peter (ed.). Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas. Aldershot: Variorum, Ashgate Publishing Limited. p. 15.
External links
- Media related to Volta River at Wikimedia Commons