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Burkina Faso, also known by its
short-form name Burkina, is a landlocked nation in West Africa.
It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east,
Benin to the south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire
to the south west. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was
renamed on August 4, 1984, by President Thomas Sankara to mean "the land
of upright people" in Moré and Dioula, the major native languages of the
country. Literally, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of
integrity," from the Moré language, and "Faso" means "father's house" in
Dioula. The country owed its former
name of Upper Volta to three rivers which cross it: the Mouhoun
(formerly called the Black Volta), the Nakambé (the White Volta) and the
Nazinon (the Red Volta). The Mouhoun, along with the Comoé which flows
to the south west, is the country's only river which flows year-round
The basin of the Niger River also drains 27% of the country's surface.
Its tributaries (the Béli, the Gorouol, the Goudébo and the Dargol) are
seasonal streams, and only flow for 4 to 6 months a year but can cause
large floods. |
