Oti River
river in West-Central Africa
The Oti River or Pendjari River (French: Rivière Pendjari) is an international river in West Africa. It rises in Benin, forms the border between Benin and Burkina Faso, flows through Togo, and joins the Volta River in Ghana.
Geography
The Oti River is about 520 km (323 mi) long. Its headwaters are in Benin and Burkina Faso, it flows through Benin and Togo and joins the Volta River in Ghana. Tributaries on the left bank in Togo originate from the Togo Mountains to the south. One of its eastern tributaries is the Kara River, the confluence being on the Ghana–Togo border, where another tributary, the Koumongou River, joins from the south. The mouth of the Oti was formerly on the Volta River, but it now flows into Lake Volta reservoir in Ghana.
The river crosses the northern part of Togo in a savannah-clad valley some 40 or 50 km (25 or 31 mi) wide. Along the margins of the river is gallery forest which floods periodically. The dry season here lasts from about November until April, with the hot dry Harmattan wind blowing from the north.
The public source identifies “Oti River” as river in West-Central Africa. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around River, river and West-Central.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Oti River”, the useful work is to connect “river in West-Central Africa” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q252472. Authority coordinates are 8.462, 0.084. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Oti River” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.