The Oti River is about 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 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. At this time of the year the river's flow is minimal. Both the Oti and the Koumongou have floodplains, some wide, respectively. These flood extensively during the wet season, but during the dry season they become dry, dusty plains, with the occasional pond or lake in a depression. Cattle graze on the floodplains during the dry season. There is also some small-scale growing of crops, and the hunting of game takes place there.
International borders The river forms part of the
international borders between
Ghana,
Burkina Faso,
Togo, and
Benin.
Parks The Oti River flows through
Pendjari National Park in Benin and the
Oti-Kéran National Park in Togo. ==References==