Kayes Region

Kayes Region
Region

Sahel forest

Location within Mali
Coordinates: 14°6′54″N 10°34′7″W / 14.11500°N 10.56861°WCoordinates: 14°6′54″N 10°34′7″W / 14.11500°N 10.56861°W
Country  Mali
Capital Kayes
Area
 • Total 119,743 km2 (46,233 sq mi)
Population (2009 census)[1]
 • Total 1,996,812
 • Density 17/km2 (43/sq mi)
Time zone UTC (UTC±0)
Kayes Region. Unpaved roads are shown by dashed lines. The borders of the Boucle du Baoulé National Park are approximate.
Cercles of Kayes Region

Kayes Region is one of eight first level national subdivisions, called Regions in Mali. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of 120,760 km2. Its capital is the town of Kayes.

Geography

The region of Kayes is bordered to the north by Mauritania, to the west by Senegal, to the south by Guinea and to the east by the region of Koulikoro.

In 2009 the region has a population of 1,996,812 inhabitants. Ethnic groups of the area include Soninkés, Khassonkés, Malinkés, and Fulas (French: Peuls; Fula: 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, Lake Magui 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 Kayes, Nioro du Sahel, Diéma, Yélimané, Sadiola, Bafoulabé, Kéniéba and Kita.

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:[2]

Cercle name Area (km2) Population
Census 1998 		Population
Census 2009
Kayes22,190327,891513,362
Bafoulabé20,220168,731233,926
Kéniéba 12,883 144,971194,153
Kita35,250303,647434,379
Diéma12,440141,905212,062
Nioro11,060165,708230,488
Yélimané5,700121,463178,442

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

The construction of the railway line of Dakar-Niger, 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's novel God's Bits of Wood.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Resultats Provisoires RGPH 2009 (Région de Kayes) (PDF) (in French), République de Mali: Institut National de la Statistique, archived from the original on 19 Sep 2012.
  2. ↑ Communes de la Région de Kayes (PDF) (in French), Ministère de l’administration territoriale et des collectivités locales, République du Mali, archived from the original on 19 Sep 2012.

External links