Burkina Faso - Home of the Burkinabe Quiz

Answer: Black, White and Red

From west to east, the Black, White and Red Volta Rivers run in a southerly direction to eventually join together. The Black Volta River starts its journey in Burkina Faso, flowing to the northeast where it takes a sharp curve and heads south. As it flows south, it forms part of the border between Ghana and Burkina Faso, and then Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. It ends its 1,352km (840 mi) run by emptying into the White Volta River in Ghana.

In the middle of this trio of rivers is the Red Volta River whose 320 km (199 mi) length starts in Burkina Faso and flows into the White Volta River. It forms a part of the Ghana/Burkina Faso border.

Finally, there is the easternmost Volta River, the White Volta River which begins its life in Burkina Faso. It's 885 km (550 mi) long and is joined firstly by the Red, then the Black Volta Rivers before emptying into a lake.

The red, white and black used to name the rivers were also used on the Upper Volta flag. The old flag had three horizontal stripes with black uppermost, white in the centre and red on the base of the flag. The new flag was introduced in 1984 alongside the name change to Burkina Faso.

Answer: Lake Volta

Lake Volta, located in Ghana, is the largest man-made lake in the world. It has the largest surface area of any man-made lake and the fourth largest volume. Here is where all the water from the Volta Rivers sits until it leaves the lake (via a spillway on the Akosombo Dam which created Lake Volta) and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Construction on the dam began in 1961 and was completed a mere four years later in 1965. Nearly 80,000 people and 200,000 animals had to find new homes as their homes would be under part of the 8,502 sq km (3,283 sq mi) surface area of the lake.

The Akosombo Dam is used to generate hydroelectricity for a great deal of Ghana and it's also sold to neighbouring countries, giving Ghana an income. The lake is also used for transportation, tourism and fishing.

Answer: False

Burkina Faso has no petroleum resources. Gold, however, is a good export income earner for Burkina Faso. While Burkina Faso produces nowhere near the amount of gold South Africa produces, gold in the early 21st century was in the top three export earners for the country. Burkina Faso also has deposits of resources such as manganese, nickel, diamonds, graphite, limestone and copper, some of which are being mined.

Cotton is a significant product for Burkina Faso, producing a large portion of their GDP and export income, and employing over ten percent of the population. Despite the mineral resources and agriculture, Burkina Faso remains a poor country in receipt of much foreign aid to bolster much of the development it hopes to achieve.

Answer: Mud bricks

The cathedral was built in the 1930s from the traditional mud bricks used for centuries in the region. It is one of the biggest cathedrals in the region. Inside, the cathedral looks like many others - the arches are painted white, the pews are made of wood. Looking at the outside of the church gives you the impression you're in Africa though. The terracotta coloured bricks are a rich, warm colour which seems appropriate in Burkina Faso. The two steeples are of different heights though, and there is no spire. Some say this is done intentionally to provoke a feeling of incompleteness, but perhaps there is another reason for leaving the cathedral this way. Overall, the cathedral is built in a style suggestive of a European Romanesque basilica.

About half the Burkinabe are Muslims while about 30% are Christians. The remainder of the population follow traditional religions, mainly forms of animism. Both Muslim and Christian faiths in Burkina Faso include some features of animism in their practice. It's said in Burkina Faso that while the population may be split into Muslim and Christian, everyone is animist!

Answer: Meanders in the Niger River which form a 'W'

The W National Park can be found stretching over Burkina Faso and two of her neighbours, Benin and Niger, and is jointly managed by all three nations. The name comes from the meandering Niger River which at one point forms a 'W' of sorts. The park's territory is covered with savanna grasslands and woodlands, flowing waterways and ponds, and contains some rare species of animals and plants, some only found in Niger. The African wild dog, African elephant and the red-fronted gazelle all live in the park while the Northwest African dugong lives in the Niger River with over 100 fish species. Over 350 bird species make the park their home amongst the 450+ plant species in 2,200 square kilometres (849 sq mi) of park.

The W National Park was only declared a park in 1954 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, but already there has been a steady increase in the population of most of the larger mammals including the rare West African cheetah.

Answer: Southwest

Burkina Faso's territory is mostly in the Sahel, the transition zone between the Sahara Desert and the rainforests of Africa. In contrast is the southwest of Burkina Faso which lies on a sandstone massif, defined in some areas by sheer cliffs rising up to 150m. Ténakourou is Burkina Faso's highest point but only reaches 749m (2,457 ft). The difference between the highest and lowest points of Burkina Faso is only 549m (1,801 ft) making the country relatively flat compared to many others. The capital, Ouagadougou, sits in the central plain of Burkina Faso.

Ouagadougou is pronounced 'Wagadugu'. The spelling of Ouagadougou comes from the French history in the region.

Answer: Rock formations

The Domes are estimated to be close to two billion years old. Layers of sandstone deposited over thousands of years have been eroded to leave large domes of rock, clustered together near Banfora. Similar in form to Australia's Bungle Bungles, most are dome-shaped but you will find some pinnacles of rock there also. Karfiguéla Falls are a small set of cascades located close to the Domes of Fabedougou, popular with tourists as a refreshing stop on their tour through what can be a dusty region, especially in the dry season.

You can travel about 50 km out of Banfora to see the Sindou Peaks, another cluster of rock formations in Burkina Faso. Most of these peaks are limestone pinnacles rather than domes. It is possible to climb to the top of some of them. There are sacred sites amongst the rocks but a local guide will help you avoid them as you meander your way through the maze of rock formations.

Answer: Building lines of stones on the ground

Soil that has been baked hard by the sun during the dry season doesn't retain much of the moisture that falls during the rainy season. Instead, the water runs off and does little good. The project has been assisted greatly by a European organisation and has seen the Burkinabe farmers achieve amazing things in a short period. Stone walls 50-150 cm (20-60 in) tall are built along the contour lines of a property. The walls are anywhere from twenty to forty metres apart. Once built, the walls stop the water running off, allowing it to soak into the ground and preventing soil erosion. Between 1987 and 2006, done mostly by hand and involving thousands of Burkinabe, over 30,000 km of stone walls on 10,000 hectares of land were laid. The amount of stone could have built a replica of the Great Pyramid of Cheops! Fresh compost is also added to the soil to improve the quality.

The payoffs for all this hard work have been: a 50% rise in cereal production in the first year after the stone walls were laid; the ability to grow maize and other cash crops in areas previously unusable for those crops; increased tree cover on farms; raising of the water table which has improved vegetation on and off farms; reduced pressure to turn wild savanna into farmland, preserving native faunal habitat; improved land values; improved food security for Burkina Faso's future; and a decrease in migration from the rural districts to urban centres.

Answer: Ruins dating back 1,000 years

Loropéni is a market town in Burkina Faso's southwest near the border with Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. The Ruins of Lorepéni are one of a number of structures in West Africa established as trading posts hundreds of years ago. The Ruins have endured the ravages of time better than the others and still have walls up to six metres high in places enclosing an area of just over a hectare (2.5 acres). The settlement (now abandoned) inside the walls is thought to have been dedicated to the selling and movement of gold throughout the region though that isn't certain. Archaeological research into the ruins haven't yielded conclusive evidence of gold trading but the exploration of the site has much left to do. Walled settlements weren't unusual in Africa but the Burkina Faso site was constructed in a different fashion to those of other African countries.

The Ruins of Loropéni have been occupied by several groups of people including the Lohron, Koulango, Nabé and the Gan. Total abandonment of the site occurred sometime in the early 19th century and the site was 'discovered' in 1902. Having been put on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2009, more research is being done which will hopefully uncover more of its history.

The Royal Palaces of Abomey, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, are in neighbouring Benin.

Answer: Hippopotamuses

Lake Tengrela is quite small, less than four square kilometres in area. In the waters live hippopotamuses which, according to local legend, are sacred. Because of this, it's said they never attack humans. Crocodiles are very rarely seen. To my way of thinking, that's because the crocs are hiding under the water, but don't let me put you off visiting the lake and venturing out on the pirogues (shallow boats) with a guide. The best time to spot a hippo is in the early morning or late afternoon when it's cooler.

If crocodiles are of more interest to you, there is a pond in Bazoulé, a town close to Ouagadougou. There are about fifty sacred crocodiles there and for a small fee, you can feed one or more of them. You can even sit on a croc. After you...