The Oti River or Pendjari River is an international river in West Africa. It rises in Benin, forms the border between Benin and Burkina Faso, flows through Togo, and joins the Volta River in Ghana.
| Oti River | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Togo with the Oti River (north) and the Mono River (south) | |
| Location | |
| Countries | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • elevation | 150 m (490 ft) |
| Mouth | Lake Volta of Ghana |
• location | Gulf of Guinea |
• coordinates | 8°46′48″N 2°34′29″W / 8.78000°N 2.57472°W |
| Length | 520 km (320 mi) |
| Basin size | 72,000 km2 (28,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Mouth |
| Basin features | |
| Designation | |
| Official name | Zone Humide de la Rivière Pendjari |
| Designated | 2 February 2007 |
| Reference no. | 1669[1] |
Geography
editThe Oti River is about 520 km (323 mi) long. Its headwaters are in Benin and Burkina Faso, it flows through Benin and Togo and joins the Volta River in Ghana. Tributaries on the left bank in Togo originate from the Togo Mountains to the south. One of its eastern tributaries is the Kara River, the confluence being on the Ghana–Togo border, where another tributary, the Koumongou River, joins from the south. The mouth of the Oti was formerly on the Volta River, but it now flows into Lake Volta reservoir in Ghana.[2]
The river crosses the northern part of Togo in a savannah-clad valley some 40 or 50 km (25 or 31 mi) wide. Along the margins of the river is gallery forest which floods periodically. The dry season here lasts from about November until April, with the hot dry Harmattan wind blowing from the north. At this time of the year the river's flow is minimal. Both the Oti and the Koumongou have floodplains, some 10 and 4 km (6.2 and 2.5 mi) wide, respectively. These flood extensively during the wet season, but during the dry season they become dry, dusty plains, with the occasional pond or lake in a depression. Cattle graze on the floodplains during the dry season. There is also some small-scale growing of crops, and the hunting of game takes place there.[3]
International borders
editThe river forms part of the international borders between Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Benin.[4]
Parks
editThe Oti River flows through Pendjari National Park in Benin[5] and the Oti-Kéran National Park in Togo.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Zone Humide de la Rivière Pendjari". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ Philip's (1994). Atlas of the World. Reed International. p. 101. ISBN 0-540-05831-9.
- ^ a b Hughes, R.H. (1992). A Directory of African Wetlands. IUCN. pp. 443–447. ISBN 978-2-88032-949-5.
- ^ "Ghana - Rivers and Lakes". www.countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
- ^ "Parc National de la Pendjari". Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
