GEOGRAPHY
Burkina Faso is a landlocked Sahel
country that shares borders with six nations. It lies between
the Sahara Desert and the Gulf of Guinea, south of the loop of
the Niger River. The land is green in the south, with forests
and fruit trees, and desert in the north. Most of central Burkina
Faso lies on a savanna plateau, 198- 305 meters (650-1,000 ft.)
above sea level, with fields, brush, and scattered trees. Burkina
Faso's game preserves-the most important of which are Arly, Nazinga,
and Park W-contain lions, elephants, hippopotamus, monkeys, warthog,
and antelopes. Tourism is not well developed.
Annual rainfall varies from about 100 centimeters (40 in.) in
the south to less than 25 centimeters (10 in.) in the extreme
north and northeast, where hot desert winds accentuate the dryness
of the region. Burkina Faso has three distinct seasons: warm and
dry (November-March); hot and dry (March-May); and hot and wet
(June- October). Rivers are not navigable.
Area: 274,200 sq. km. (106,000 sq. mi); about the size
of Colorado.
Cities: Capital-Ouagadougou (pop. 500,000).
Other cities-Bobo- Dioulasso (250,000), Koudougou (70,000).
Terrain: Savanna; brushy plains, and scattered hills.
Climate: Sahelian; pronounced wet and dry seasons.
