Mali Canyon

Talari Gorges

47 m of rock, cut by the Sénégal.

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

The cut

47 metres, to scale.

A slice through Talari Gorges where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

Standing on the floor, to scale: a person · 1.8 m · a two-storey house · 9.0 m

Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.

47m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

2.6km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

6°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

78m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

Afternoons, up top and down below.

In April the afternoon reaches 43 °C. The floor passes 35 °C from February to June: walk at dawn and carry water. The wettest months are from July to September.

rim · 127 mfloor · 78 m

34°33°Jan
37°37°Feb
41°40°Mar
43°42°Apr
42°42°May
38°38°Jun
33°32°Jul
31°30°Aug
31°31°Sep
33°32°Oct
34°34°Nov
33°33°Dec

Floor above 35 °C: Feb–JunWettest: Jul–Sep

Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.

Gorges in Mali

Talari Gorges is a canyon in Mali, cut by the Sénégal river. The relief model measures 47 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 2.6 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

Bafoulabénearest town · 15 km in a straight line
Kayes Dag Dag Airport (KYS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 91 km in a straight line

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire in MaliDiscover CarsSee prices

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The river

The Sénégal runs highest from August to October.

The Sénégal carries about 375 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from August to October. It is lowest from December to June.

88 m³/sJan
60 m³/sFeb
60 m³/sMar
60 m³/sApr
64 m³/sMay
137 m³/sJun
429 m³/sJul
926 m³/sAug
1,192 m³/sSep
1,064 m³/sOct
737 m³/sNov
323 m³/sDec

From about 60 m³/s in the lowest month to 1,192 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 143,985 km².

Follow the Senegal River from source to mouth on Riveryas

Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.

From the sky.

The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.

Talari Gorges seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 1.4 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.5 × 5.5 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

viewpoints within 5 km
marked hiking routes within 4 km
via ferrata routes within 4 km
climbing crags within 3 km
footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
swimming spots within 3 km
named waterfalls within 4 km
caves within 3 km
car parks within 3 km
information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
bus stops within 2 km
campsites within 8 km
hotels and guesthouses within 8 km
restaurants and cafés within 4 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

Bafoulabé15 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Talari Gorges.

The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.

Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon

Senegal River1,050 km · 640 m³/sKolinbiné River

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather, at the floor and at the rim.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon · floor	34	37	41	43	42	38	33	31	31	33	34	33
Afternoon · rim	33	37	40	42	42	38	32	30	31	32	34	33
Night · rim	16	19	22	26	28	27	24	24	23	23	19	16
Rain (mm)	0	0	1	1	18	86	196	284	200	52	2	0
Rainy days	0	0	0	0	4	16	28	30	28	13	0	0
Sun hours/day	9.0	9.5	9.9	10.2	9.8	8.9	7.8	6.9	7.8	8.7	9.1	9.1

	Afternoon · floor	Afternoon · rim	Night · rim	Rain (mm)	Sun hours/day
Jan	34	33	16	0	9.0
Feb	37	37	19	0	9.5
Mar	41	40	22	1	9.9
Apr	43	42	26	1	10.2
May	42	42	28	18	9.8
Jun	38	38	27	86	8.9
Jul	33	32	24	196	7.8
Aug	31	30	24	284	6.9
Sep	31	31	23	200	7.8
Oct	33	32	23	52	8.7
Nov	34	34	19	2	9.1
Dec	33	33	16	0	9.1

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (78 m) and the rim (127 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	—	—	—	—	190%	98%	155%	85%	205%	95%	—	—
2021	—	—	—	—	54%	197%	106%	121%	114%	148%	—	—
2022	—	—	—	—	354%	126%	48%	143%	96%	86%	—	—
2023	—	—	—	—	54%	133%	174%	18%	29%	55%	—	—
2024	—	—	—	—	61%	145%	132%	98%	176%	140%	—	—
2025	—	—	—	—	148%	26%	21%	20%	22%	61%	—	—

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length	Wikidata (Q4786032) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basin	HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby	Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas