Koulikoro

Niger River

Koulikoro, town, southwestern Mali. Situated about 35 miles (55 km) northeast of Bamako, the national capital, the town serves as a centre of transportation. It is the upper river terminus for large boats on the 1,000-mile (1,600-km) navigable section of the middle Niger River and the last stop on the rail line linking Dakar, Senegal, with this navigable section of the river. Industry in Koulikoro is centred on the production of peanut (groundnut) oil, cottonseed oil, and soap. The relief in the surrounding region varies from about 800 feet (250 metres) in the sandy plains of the north to about l,950 feet (600 metres) in the hard sandstone plateau of the southwest. The Soninke people in the dry north cultivate millet and sorghum, and the Bambara and Malinke peoples in the much wetter south grow peanuts, corn (maize), cotton, and mangoes. Pop. (1998) 28,670; (2009) 43,174.