The Bakoy or Bakoye River ( French: ''Rivière Bakoy'') is a river in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. It runs through

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

and

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and joins with the

Bafing River The Bafing River (Manding languages, Manding for "black river", French language, French: ''Rivière Bafing'') is the upper course and largest tributary of the Senegal River which runs through Guinea and Mali and is about long. Course The Font ...

to form the

Sénégal River The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length mark ...

at Bafoulabé in the

Kayes Region Kayes Region ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kayi Dineja, ) is one of ten first level national subdivisions in Mali called Regions. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of . Its capital is the town of Kayes. The ...

of western Mali. In Manding languages, Bakoye signifies 'white river', Bafing 'black river' and Baloué 'red river'.. The source of the Bakoy is at an elevation of 760 m in the granite Monts Ménien to the northwest of

Siguiri Siguiri (N'Ko script, N’ko: ߛߌ߯ߙߌ߲߫; Arabic: سِجِرِ ِ) is a city in northeastern Guinea on the River Niger. It is a Sub-prefectures of Guinea, sub-prefecture and capital of Siguiri Prefecture in the Kankan Region. It is known for ...

in Guinea. The river flows north and forms part of the international border between Guinea and Mali. It then meanders across the Manding Plateau and joins its principal affluent, the Baloué, which rises to the west of

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

.. The Bakoy is 560 km in length and drains a basin of around 85,600 km². The river is seasonal with a maximum flow in September after the start of the

West African Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

and almost no flow between January and June. The large year-to-year variation in the intensity of the West African Monsoon gives rise to large changes in the discharge of the Bakoy River. For the exceptionally dry year of 1972, the average flow at the

Oualia Oualia is a small town and ''commune'' in the Cercle of Bafoulabé in the Kayes Region of south-western Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eigh ...

gauging station A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or vo ...

, 54 km upstream of Bafoulabé, was only 30 m³/s while in 1958 the value was 260 m³/s. The average flow over the period 1951-1978 was 156 m³/s corresponding to an annual discharge of 4.9 km³. At Bafoulabé the average discharge of the Bakoy is between a third and a half of that of the Bafing..

References

{{reflist Rivers of Mali Rivers of Guinea Senegal River International rivers of Africa Guinea–Mali border Border rivers