Volta River

{{distinguish|Volga}} {{short description|River in West Africa}} {{Missing information|the name of the river in local languages|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox river | name = Volta River<br>''Fleuve Volta'' | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology =  | image = VoltaRiverWithAdombeBridge183-1-.jpg | image_size = 300 | image_caption = The Adomi Bridge crosses the Volta river south of the Akosombo Dam. | map = Volta River basin map.svg | map_size = 300 | map_caption = Map of the Volta River drainage basin and its three main tributaries, the White Volta, Red Volta, and Black Volta rivers | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = 300 | pushpin_map_caption = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 6  | subdivision_type1 = Countries | subdivision_name1 = {{hlist|Ghana|Burkina Faso|Ivory Coast}} | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 =  | length = {{convert|1500|km|mi|abbr=on}} | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= Mouth<ref name="brit">[http://www.library.eb.com/eb/article-9075703 Volta River], Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. Retrieved on October 6, 2007.</ref> | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = {{convert|1210|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="brit">[http://www.library.eb.com/eb/article-9075703 Volta River], Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. Retrieved on October 6, 2007.</ref> | discharge1_max =  | source1 = | source1_location = | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | mouth = Gulf of Guinea | mouth_location = Atlantic Ocean | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|5|46|N|0|41|E|display=inline,title}}<ref>{{GEOnet2|32FA87A2E09D3774E0440003BA962ED3|Volta}}</ref> | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = {{convert|407093|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name="eatlas">[http://www.waterandnature.org/eatlas/html/af26.html Volta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026063230/http://www.waterandnature.org/eatlas/html/af26.html |date=2005-10-26 }}, Watersheds of the World. Water Resources eAtlas. Retrieved on October 6, 2007.</ref> | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = }}

The '''Volta River''' ({{langx|ak|Asuo Firaw}}, {{langx|ee|Amuga}}, {{langx|fr|Fleuve Volta}}) is the main river system in the West African country of Ghana. It flows south into Ghana from the Bobo-Dioulasso highlands of Burkina Faso.

The three main parts of the river are the Black Volta, the White Volta, and the Red Volta. In the northwest, the Black Volta forms the international borders of the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. The Volta flows southward along the Akwapim-Togoland highlands, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of Guinea at Ada Foah. One of its smaller tributaries, the Oti River, enters Ghana from Togo in the east. The Volta River has been dammed at Akosombo for generating hydroelectricity. The reservoir named Lake Volta stretches from Akosombo Dam in the south to the northern part of the country, and is the largest man-made reservoir by area in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lake Volta, Ghana|url=https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=58197|website=Visible Earth| date=7 April 2002 |publisher=NASA|access-date=7 March 2018}}</ref>

The country of Burkina Faso was formerly called Upper Volta, after the river. thumb|Ada, Volta River

==The reservoir== Lake Volta is a reservoir impounded by the Akosombo Dam 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 in the Central Gonja District, Northern Region of Ghana, some {{convert|400|km|mi}} to the north.

The dam's power plant generates electricity for the Volta River Authority, and the reservoir also provides water transport routes. It is a resource for irrigation and fish farming <ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-05-23 |title=Akosombo Dam: Engineering Facts And History |url=https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/infrastructure-projects/akosombo-dam |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-01 |title=Ghana’s Akosombo Dam, Volta Lake Fisheries & Climate Change {{!}} American Academy of Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.amacad.org/publication/daedalus/ghanas-akosombo-dam-volta-lake-fisheries-climate-change |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=www.amacad.org |language=en}}</ref>.

The depth of the river is about {{convert|45|ft|m}} below Lake Volta. The Volta River is crossed by the Adome Bridge just below the Akosombo Dam.

==History== The Akwamu people who once built a kingdom on both the east and west banks of the river spanning present day Ghana, Togo and Benin call it '''Firaw'''. They have a deity dedicated to the river named Mfodwo.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wissing |first1=Kirsty |title=Assistance and resistance of (hydro-)power: Contested relationships of control over the Volta River, Ghana |journal=Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space |date=November 2019 |volume=37 |issue=7 |pages=1167, 1169 |doi=10.1177/0263774x18807482}}</ref>

The Volta River was named by Portuguese gold traders in Ghana. It was their furthest extent of exploration before returning (''volta'' is Portuguese for "twist" or "turn").<ref name="Volta - etymology"/> It has been known as the ''"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.<ref name="Volta - etymology">{{Cite web |title=volta {{!}} Search Online Etymology Dictionary |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=Volta |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref><ref name="Bakewell">{{cite book|first=Ivor|last=Wilks|chapter=Wangara, Akan, and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries|editor1-last=Bakewell|editor1-first=Peter|title=Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas|date=1997|publisher=Variorum, Ashgate Publishing Limited|location=Aldershot|page=15}}</ref>

==See also== *Impacts of the Akosombo Hydroelectric Project — environmental and human health issues from the Akosombo Dam and Lake Volta.

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{commonscatinline}}

Category:Volta River Category:Rivers of Ghana Category:Rivers of Burkina Faso Category:Gulf of Guinea Category:Rivers of Ivory Coast