Kayes Kayi,Xaayi | |
|---|---|
Commune and city | |
 Town Hall of Kayes | |
  Kayes Location withinMali | |
| Coordinates:14°27′N11°26′W / 14.450°N 11.433°W /14.450; -11.433 | |
| Country |  Mali |
| Region | Kayes |
| Cercle | Kayes Cercle |
| Town founded | 1880s |
| Elevation | 33 m (108 ft) |
| Population (2009 census)[1] | |
• Total | 127,368 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
Kayes (Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ tr.Kayi,Soninké:Xaayi) is a city in westernMali on theSénégal River with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of theadministrative region of the same name. The city is located 420 kilometres (260 mi) northwest of the capitalBamako.
There are multiple possible etymologies of the name 'Kayes', all derived from theSoninke language. These include: the word "kharré", which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season; the word 'kayé', a type of grass;[2] 'khayé', the Soninke name for therhun palm.[3]
The area around Kayes was historically a part of theSoninke states ofDiarra andGajaaga. The important trading center ofGoundiourou, known in Arabic sources as Ghiyaru, was just across the river, and was later rebuilt just south of the modern city.[4][5]
Kayes itself was founded in the second half of the 19th century. Guéssé Sidy, a prince ofKhasso, established a base there to protect the western approaches to the kingdom's capital,Medina.[2][3]
Prior to French colonial expansion, Kayes was still a small village. In 1881 the French chose it as the site for a fort and barracks, the headquarters of the colonial presence in the central Sudan, as Medina was difficult to access by boat. By 1886 the post had been fortified, and by 1889 a market town of 6000 people had grown up around it.[6]
From the beginning, the French began building arailway linking Kayes, the furthest point reachable by boat on theSenegal river, withBafoulabe upstream. This stretch was completed in 1890, and reached toBamako in 1904. Arail link toThiès was begun in 1907 which, interrupted by theFirst World War, was completed in 1923.[7]
In 1892, Kayes became the capital of theFrench Sudan; Bamako replaced it as the capital, first of the state ofHaut Sénégal-Niger on October 17, 1899, then as the capital of all of French Sudan in 1908.[citation needed]
DuringWorld War II, a portion ofPoland'sgold reserve, evacuated during theGerman-Soviet invasion in 1939, was stored for several years in Kayes before being transported to the United States in 1944, to be returned to Poland after theoccupation and war ended.[8]
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Kayes lies on the Route Nationale 1 (RN1) highway and is 612 km (380 mi) by road from Bamako and 96 km (60 mi) from the border withSenegal. The town has an international airport (Kayes Airport), and lies on theDakar-Niger Railway which offered regional passenger train service toBamako three times a week via Kati and Diamou as of 2013.[9] The area is rich in gold and iron.
Kayes has ahot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classificationBSh). The climate is subject to theWest African Monsoon with all the rainfall occurring between June and October. August is the wettest month. There is almost no rainfall during the other seven months of the year. The total annual rainfall is around 650 millimetres or 26 inches.[10] Kayes is nicknamed the "pressure cooker of Africa" due to its extreme heat; the town is surrounded by iron-rich mountains which contribute to the temperature. The town has been described as the hottest continuously inhabited town in Africa.[citation needed] The average daily high temperature in the city is 36.4 °C (97.5 °F), with temperatures usually peaking in April and May at an average of nearly 42 °C (108 °F).[11]
| Climate data for Kayes (1950-2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | — | — | — | — | 47.9 (118.2) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 47.9 (118.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 33.6 (92.5) | 36.6 (97.9) | 39.4 (102.9) | 41.7 (107.1) | 41.9 (107.4) | 38.2 (100.8) | 33.6 (92.5) | 32.0 (89.6) | 33.1 (91.6) | 36.1 (97.0) | 36.7 (98.1) | 33.5 (92.3) | 36.4 (97.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) | 19.3 (66.7) | 22.2 (72.0) | 25.5 (77.9) | 28.4 (83.1) | 26.6 (79.9) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.0 (73.4) | 20.0 (68.0) | 17.2 (63.0) | 22.5 (72.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.4 (0.02) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.6 (0.02) | 12.0 (0.47) | 82.6 (3.25) | 155.2 (6.11) | 215.9 (8.50) | 140.9 (5.55) | 41.2 (1.62) | 2.7 (0.11) | 1.1 (0.04) | 652.7 (25.69) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 7.8 | 12.3 | 14.8 | 11.4 | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 53.4 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 263.5 | 250.0 | 282.1 | 285.0 | 279.0 | 215.0 | 211.8 | 223.2 | 240.0 | 263.5 | 264.0 | 260.6 | 3,037.7 |
| Source 1:World Meteorological Organization[12] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (sun 1961–1990)[13] | |||||||||||||
Sites found in and around Kayes include:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
