Article Outline
Mali, officially Republic of Mali, landlocked republic, western Africa, bordered on the north-east by Algeria, on the east by Niger, on the south by Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea, and on the west by Senegal, and Mauritania. A former French colony, it gained independence on June 20, 1960. The area of the country is 1,240,192 sq km (478,841 sq mi). The capital of Mali is Bamako.
Most of Mali consists of low plains broken occasionally by rocky hills. In the south-east the Hombori Mountains rise to 1,155 m (3,789 ft), and in the south-west the Bambouk and Manding mountains are separated by an area of sandy lowlands north and north-west of the River Niger, which cuts an arc across Mali. The northern third of the country lies within the Sahara. In the west is a part of the Sahel, a semi-arid transitional zone between the savannah areas of the south and the Sahara desert to the north.
The climate of the parts of Mali not in the Sahara is hot and dry with average temperatures ranging from about 24° to 32° C (75° to 90° F) in the south, and higher in the north. Annual rainfall declines from about 1,400 mm (55 in) in the south to some 1,120 mm (44 in) at Bamako and less than 127 mm (5 in) in the north.
Mali is a predominantly agricultural country. The most valuable resource is the River Niger, which abounds in fish; its waters are used for irrigation. Mineral resources include phosphates, salt, gold, and uranium.
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