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Geography of Burkina Faso – The Ultimate Free Guide 2021

Learn facts and Geography of Burkina Faso including Major Geographical Features, Natural resources, Region, area, Capital, Border countries, rivers in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa that covers an area of around 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) and is bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and the Ivory Coast to the southwest.

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Geography of Burkina Faso

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Large Detailed Map of Burkina Faso

Region:

Burkina Faso is divided into 13 administrative regions.

• Boucle du Mouhoun
• Cascades
• Centre
• Centre-Est
• Centre-Nord
• Centre-Ouest
• Centre-Sud
• Est
• Hauts-Bassins
• Nord
• Plateau-Central
• Sahel
• Sud-Ouest

Area:

274,200 km2

Capital:

Ouagadougou

Population:

2.03 crores

Bordering Countries:

1. Mali – North and West,
2. Niger to the Northeast,
3. Benin to the Southeast, and
4. Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo to the South.

Ethnic groups:

• Mossi
• Fula
• Lobi
• Bobo
• Dioula
• Senufo
• Gurunsi
• Gurma
• Tuareg

Geographical Coordinates:

12.2383° N, 1.5616° W

World Region or Continent:

Western Africa, Africa

Demonym(s):

Burkinabé. Burkinabè, Burkinese

Geographical Low Point:

•  Its elevation extremes are a lowest point at the Mouhoun (Black Volta) River (200 metres or 656 feet)

Geographical High Point:

• It’s highest point at Tena Kourou (749 metres or 2,457 feet).

Terrain:

Mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast

Climate:

• Burkina Faso has a primarily tropical climate with two very distinct seasons.
  1. In the rainy season, the country receives between 60 and 90 cm (23.6 and 35.4 in) of rainfall.
  2. 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:
  1. The Sahel,
  2. The Sudan-Sahel, and
  3. The Sudan-Guinea.
• The Sahel in the north typically receives less than 60 cm (23.6 in)[86] of rainfall per year and has high temperatures, 5–47 °C (41–117 °F).

Major cities:

• Ouagadougou
• Bobo Dioulasso
• Banfora
• Koudougou
• Ouahigouya
• Kaya
• Fada N’gourma
• Tenkodogo
• Houndé
• Dédougou

Major Land forms:

Burkina Faso is made up of two major types of countryside.

1. The larger part of the country is covered by a peneplain, which forms a gently undulating landscape with, in some areas, a few isolated hills, the last vestiges of a Precambrian massif .
2. The southwest of the country, on the other hand, forms a sandstone massif, where the highest peak, Tenakourou, is found at an elevation of 749 meters (2,450 feet).

Major Rivers and Lakes:

Major Rivers:

•  The Black Volta,
• The Red Volta and
• The White Volta.

Major Lakes:

• Lake Bam.
• Lake Boukou.

Natural Resources:

• Manganese,
• Limestone,
• Marble;
• Gold,
• Phosphates,
• Pumice, and
• Salt

Major Geographical Features:

Biomes & Ecosystems:

• Burkina Faso is largely wild bush country with a mixture of grass and small trees in varying proportions. The savanna region is mainly grassland in the rainy season and semi desert during the harmattan period (defined as the period when stormy and dusty Sahara winds blow dry and hot)

Topography:

• Burkina Faso is fairly flat, with an extensive peneplain that covers about three quarters of the country, elevations range from 250 to 400 m.
• The Koutiala Plateau (PK), a sandstone block situated in the country’s southwest, is the highest and most rugged part of the country.

Oceans:

Atlantic Ocean.

Islands:

Pelagie Islands

Mountain Ranges:

• Tenakourou
• Tanlallé
• Kantolo
• Tonvo
• Kanso
• Koèl
• Zaran Kipsi
• Nanga
• Gabou Kani
• Lakba

Provinces of Burkina Faso Map:

Facts about Burkina Faso Map:

1. Capital of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou. Written as “Wogodogo” in the Mòoré dialect, it literally means “You are welcome here at home with us”.
2. It is located south of the Sahara Desert.
3. It was formerly known as Upper Volta, and adopted its current name after it gained its independence from France August 5, 1960.
4. The official language is French, since Burkina Faso was colonized by France. Other languages spoken include Mòoré, Gourma, Fulfulde, Dioula, Tamasheq.
5. Nationality: Burkinabe.
6. The Mossi is the largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso.
7. About 80% of the population relies on subsistence agriculture.
8. The school week runs from Monday through Saturday. Schooling is in theory free and compulsory until the age of 16. According to UNICEF, only 81% of students reach the 5th grade.

See Also:

World Map

References:

• Wikipedia
• Ontheworldmap
• Naturalhistoryonthenet
• Ace-global