The Sélingué Dam is an
embankment dam
An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...
with a
gravity section located in the
Sikasso Region
Sikasso Region ( Bambara: ߛߌߞߊߛߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Sikaso Dineja) is the southernmost region of Mali. The region's capital city, Sikasso, is the country's second-largest city. Major ethnic groups include the Senoufo, known for masks and rever ...
, on the
Sankarani River
The Sankarani River is a tributary of the Niger River. Flowing northward from the Guinea Highlands of the Fouta Djallon in Guinea, it crosses into southern Mali, where it joins the Niger approximately upstream of Bamako, the capital of Mali. It ...
, one of the affluents of the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
. It is an important center of energy production 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. Mali ...
surpassed only by the
Manantali Dam
The Manantali Dam is a multi-purpose dam on the Bafing river in the Senegal River basin, to the south-east of Bafoulabé, in Mali's Kayes Region.
History
Early planning for the dam began in 1972 when the Organization for the Development of the ...
on the
Bafing River
The Bafing River ( Manding for "black river") is the upper course and largest tributary of the Senegal River which runs through Guinea and Mali and is about long.
Course
The Fonta Djallon in Guinea is the source of the Bafing River, north of ...
.
Its construction, at the cost of 140 million US dollars, was financed by several backers.
The dam has a crest length of and a height of . With a power output of 44 MW, the dam has an energy output of 200 million
kilowatt-hours
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
per year. The dam provides
Bamako
Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...
,
Kati
KATI (94.3 FM), branded as 94.3 KAT Country, is a radio station which broadcasts country music and St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Licensed to California, Missouri, the station serves the Jefferson City area and is owned by the Zimmer Radio Group ...
,
Koulikoro
Koulikoro ( Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ tr. Kulikoro) is a town and urban commune in Mali. The capital of the Koulikoro Region, Koulikoro is located on banks of the Niger River, downstream from Mali's capital Bamako.
Koulikoro is the terminus of ...
,
Ségou
Ségou (; bm, ߛߋߓߎ, italic=no, ) is a town and an urban commune in south-central Mali that lies northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 i ...
,
Fana
Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the southeastern part of the municipality of Bergen. The borough was once part of the historic municipality of Fana which was incorporated into Bergen in ...
,
Dioïla,
Yanfolila
Yanfolila is a town and seat of both the Yanfolila Cercle and the Wassoulou-Ballé rural commune in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali.. The town lies 272 km west of Sikasso, 164 km south of Bamako and 23 km from the border with ...
and
Kalana with electricity. It was brought into service in 1982, and renovated between 1996 and 2001.
The retaining basin of the dam forms the
artificial
Artificiality (the state of being artificial or manmade) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity.
Connotations
Artificiality ...
Lake Sélingué
Lake Sélingué is a 409 km2 artificial lake in Mali's Sikasso Region, formed by the Selingue dam, Sélingué Hydroelectric dam on the Sankarani River. Its southwestern arm forms part of the border with Guinea. Lake Sélingué, rising and fa ...
. The water level has a maximum height of but varies throughout the year. When full the lake stores of water and has an area of . It allows
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
on the irrigated perimeters, managed by the Office of Rural Development of Sélingué, as well as fishing.
Notes
References
*.
*. Also published in French with the title "Le Niger: une Artère vitale. Gestion efficace de l’eau dans le bassin du Haut Niger".
Further reading
*.
*.
External links
Reversing Land and Water Degradation Trends in the Niger River Basin World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, 2003.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selingue Dam
Dams completed in 1982
Energy infrastructure completed in 1982
Hydroelectric power stations in Mali
Dams in Mali
Embankment dams
1982 establishments in Mali
Sikasso Region