Mali Oly Cuacuas (Lea)

Mali’s Location It is officially the Republic of Mali. French : République du Mali. Mali is a landlocked country, that is west in the continent of Africa. Its capital is Bamako.(Located with a star on the map) The countries that border Mali are Algeria to the North, Niger to the East and Cote D’lvoire to the South.

Natural Resources/ Geography Mali’s most common resources are gold and salt. Most of Mali lies on the Sahara Desert. Mali’s only fertile land is in the south. That is where the Niger and Senegal rivers provide water for irrigation. (To supply dry land with water by means of ditches, pipes, or streams; water artificially)

Mali’s Important Cities Some of Mali’s important cities were Timbuktu, Djennée and Oualata. They were trade centers who played an important role in the caravan trade through the Sahara desert. Caravan; trade in pre colonial times  was conducted by caravans of camels. These camels would be fattened for a number of months on the plains of either the Magherb or the Sahel before being assembled into a caravan.  The average size per caravan was 1,000 camels; some caravans were as large as 12,000. The caravans would be guided by highly paid Berbers who knew the desert and could ensure safe passage from their fellow desert nomads.