Kayes Region ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kayi Dineja) is one of eight first level national subdivisions in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

called

Regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of . Its capital is the town of

Kayes Kayes ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ tr. ''Kayi'', Soninké: ''Xaayi'') is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of the administrative region of the same name. The name "Kayes ...

. The province was historically part of the

Ghana Empire The Ghana Empire, also known as Wagadou ( ar, غانا) or Awkar, was a West African empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali that existed from c. 300 until 1100. The Empire was founded by the Soninke people, an ...

and the Mali Empire.

Geography

The region of Kayes is bordered to the north by Mauritania, to the west by

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, to the south by Guinea and to the east by the region of

Koulikoro Koulikoro (Bambara language, Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ tr. Kulikoro) is a town and Communes of mali, urban commune in Mali. The capital of the Koulikoro Region, Koulikoro is located on banks of the Niger River, downstream from Mali's capital Bam ...

. In 2009 the region has a population of 1,996,812 inhabitants. Ethnic groups of the area include Soninkés, Khassonkés,

Malinké The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic g ...

s, Dialonkés, and

Fulas The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region ...

(french: Peuls; ff, Fulɓe). Several rivers cross the region: the Baoulé, the Bafing, and the Bakoy which join at the town of Bafoulabé to form the Sénégal River. The Falls of Félou (15 km from Kayes), the Falls of Gouina (60 km to the south-east of Kayes on the Sénégal River),

Talari Gorges The Talari Gorges or ''Gorges de Talary'' are a series of gorges on the Sénégal River in Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=n ...

Lake Magui A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and Lake Doro are located in the region. At the Guinean border, the climate is rather wet, but becomes Sudanian and later Sahelian to the north. The largest cities in the region are

, Kita, Bafoulabé,

Nioro du Sahel Nioro du Sahel, often referred to as simply Nioro, is a town and urban commune in the Kayes Region of western Mali, 241 km from the city of Kayes. It is located 275 miles (by road) north-west of the Malian capital Bamako. As of 1998, the co ...

, Diéma, Yélimané,

Sadiola Sadiola is a ''commune'' and small town in western Mali, south of Kayes. The ''commune'' includes 46 villages and in 2009 had a population of 39,305. Sadiola has two large open cast gold mine Gold Mine may refer to: * Gold Mine (board game) *G ...

, and

Kéniéba Kéniéba is a rural commune, small town and seat of Kéniéba Cercle in Mali's Kayes Region, near the Mali–Senegal border. As well as the main town, the commune includes 26 other villages.. In the 2009 census the commune had a population o ...

The Bafing National Park and the Boucle du Baoulé National Park are located in the region.

Cercles

For administrative purposes the Region of Kayes is divided into seven ''cercles'':.

History

The region of Kayes is the cradle of the Kingdom of Khasso founded at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1855, Louis Faidherbe, Governor of Senegal, built a fort at

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

which would be besieged by El Hadj Omar Tall, in an 1857 war against the sovereign of Khasso. In 1892, the town of

became the capital of French Sudan. The construction of the

railway line of Dakar-Niger Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

, inaugurated in 1904, made of Kayes a city-crossroads. Essential at the time, the railroad had an important place in the lives of the inhabitants, as described in

Ousmane Sembène Ousmane Sembène (; 1 January 1923 or 8 January 1923 – 9 June 2007), often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The ''Los Angeles Times'' consider ...

's novel ''God's Bits of Wood''.

References

External links

*. {{authority control Regions of Mali French West Africa

Geography

Cercles

History

See also

References

External links