The Volta River is the main

river system In geomorphology, drainage systems, also known as river systems, are the patterns formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of land, whether a particular region is dominated by har ...

in the

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

n country of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. It flows south into Ghana from the Bobo-Dioulasso highlands of

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

. The main parts of the river are the Black Volta, the

White Volta The White Volta or Nakambé is the headstream of the Volta River, Ghana's main waterway. The White Volta emerges in northern Burkina Faso, flows through North Ghana and empties into Lake Volta in Ghana. The White Volta's main tributaries are the ...

, and the

Red Volta The Red Volta or Nazinon is a waterway flowing located in West Africa. It emerges near Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and has a length of about 320 km which it joins the White Volta in Ghana. The river is primarily located in Burkina Faso and ...

. In the northwest, the Black Volta forms the international borders between the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. The Volta flows southward along the Akwapim-Togoland highlands, and it empties into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

at the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

Ada Foah Ada Foah is a town on the southeast coast of Ghana, where the Volta River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The town is located along the Volta River, off of the Accra- Aflao motorway. Known for palm-lined beaches and estuary islands, Ada Foah is also t ...

. It has a smaller tributary river, the Oti, which enters Ghana from

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

in the east. The Volta River has been dammed at Akosombo for the purpose of generating

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

named Lake Volta stretches from

Akosombo Dam The Akosombo Dam, also known as the Volta Dam, is a hydroelectric dam on the Volta River in southeastern Ghana in the Akosombo gorge and part of the Volta River Authority. The construction of the dam flooded part of the Volta River Basin and led ...

in the south to the northern part of the country, and is the largest man-made reservoir by area in the world. Volta was named by the Portuguese, meaning twist or turn. The country of

was formerly called Upper Volta, after the river. Ada, Volta River

The reservoir

Lake Volta is a reservoir impounded by the

on the lower Volta River in southern Ghana. It is one of the largest reservoirs in the world. It extends from the Akosombo Dam in southeastern Ghana to the town of

Yapei Yapei or Yape is a small town in the Central Gonja District, a district in the Savannah Region of north Ghana. Geography The White Volta passes through the town; making it an important terminus point. There are few rapids on the eastern end of ...

in the

Central Gonja District Central Gonja District is one of the seven districts in Savannah Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger West Gonja District on 23 December 1988, until the part of the district was split off by a decree of president Jo ...

Northern Region of Ghana The Northern Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is located in the north of the country and was the largest of the sixteen regions, covering an area of 70,384 square kilometres or 31 percent of Ghana's area until December 2018 when ...

, some to the north. The dam's

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

generates electricity for the

Volta River Authority The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana. They are also the responsible for the maintenance of the hydro power supply plant. Establishment The VRA was established by the Volta River Development ...

, and the reservoir also provides water transport routes. It is a resource for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

and

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

. The depth of the river is about below Lake Volta. The Volta River is crossed by the

Adome Bridge The Adomi Bridge (originally the Volta Bridge) is a latticed steel arch suspension bridge crossing the Volta River at Atimpoku in Ghana in West Africa. It is the first permanent bridge to span the Volta River, which drains south into the Gulf of G ...

just below the Akosombo Dam.

History

The Volta River was named by Portuguese

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

traders in Ghana. It was their farthest extent of exploration before returning (''volta'' is

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

for "twist" or "turn"). ''"River of return"'' (perhaps because it was where ships turned around and headed for home) or “river of the bend”, in reference to its curved course.Volta - etymology
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Authority control Rivers of Ghana Rivers of Burkina Faso Gulf of Guinea Rivers of Ivory Coast

The reservoir

History

See also

References

External links