Volta

Main river in Ghana, about 1,600 km/1,000 mi long, with two main upper branches, the Black Volta and White Volta. It has been dammed at Akosombo to provide power.

Course The headwaters (White Volta, Red Volta, and Black Volta) rise in the interior uplands of the Republic of Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta), uniting to flow the length of the Republic of Ghana to reach the Gulf of Guinea 75 km/47 mi east of Accra. The river system drains a funnel-shaped lowland of Voltaian sandstone and with its tributaries the Oti River and the Afram River converge to flow through a narrow gorge in the Akwapim Range, at Akosombo, where the Volta Dam was built and was inaugurated in 1966. The dam, 60 m/196 ft high, impounds a vast lake more than 400 km/248 mi in length, thus changing fundamentally the internal geography of Ghana.

Volta River project The Volta River Project was designed to exploit the potential for hydroelectric power, but also to provide irrigation water for the dry Accra Plains, below the dam, and to provide fishing and transport on the lake. The flooding of the lake involved the resettlement of 80,000 people.

volta

Word used in such musical directions as prima volta (‘first time’), seconda volta (‘second time’), ancora una volta (‘once again’). It is also the name of an old dance including a characteristic jump. See also lavolta.