![]() The land was made up of two major types of countryside. Upper Volta was situated mostly between latitudes 9° and 15°N (a small area is north of 15°), and longitudes 6°W and 3☎. Water shortages are often a problem, especially in the north of the region. The country contains large ponds, as well, such as Oursi, Béli, Yomboli, and Markoye. The country also contains numerous lakes - the principal ones are Tingrela, Bam, and Dem. They still can flood and overflow, however. The basin of the Niger River also drains 27% of the country’s surface. The Niger’s tributaries - the Béli, Gorouol, Goudébo, and Dargol - are seasonal streams and flow for only four to six months a year. The Black Volta is one of the country’s only two rivers which flow year-round, the other being the Komoé, which flows to the southwest. The colors of the national flag corresponded to the names of its three main tributaries - the Black Volta (or Mouhoun), the White Volta (Nakambé) and the Red Volta (Nazinon). The name Upper Volta indicated that the colony contained the upper part of the Volta River. ![]() Upper Volta covered an area of around 105,900 square miles (274,200 km²) and was surrounded by the present-day countries of Mali to the north Niger to the east Benin to the southeast Togo and Ghana to the south and Ivory Coast to the southwest. ![]() On August 4, 1984, the name was changed to Burkina Faso. On December 11, 1958, it was reconstituted as the self-governing Republic of Upper Volta within the French Community, and two years later on August 5, 1960, it attained full independence. After World War II, on September 4, 1947, the colony was revived as a part of the French Union, with its previous boundaries. The colony was dissolved on September 5, 1932, with parts being administered by the Côte d’Ivoire, French Sudan and the Colony of Niger. Before attaining autonomy it had been French Upper Volta, a colony of French West Africa established on March 1, 1919, from territories that had been part of the colonies of Upper Senegal and Niger and the Côte d’Ivoire. In 1960 it issued a definitive series of 18 stamps showing native animal masks, and generally followed a stamp program consistent with other African members of the French Community.The Republic of Upper Volta ( République de Haute-Volta in French) was a landlocked West African self-governing colony within the French Community. The Republic operated its own postal system, and issued its first stamp in 1959, marking the 1st anniversary of the Republic, and memorializing governing council president Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly, who had died recently. Reconstituted in 1947, its postal administration continued to be part of French West Africa until the establishment of the Republic of Upper Volta in 1958. Upper Volta also participated in the Colonial Exposition Issue of 1931, but in 1932 the colony was dissolved and its territory divided between Côte d’Ivoire, French Sudan and Niger. Overprints and surcharges continued to be issued throughout the 1920s, then superseded in 1928 by a definitive series of 23 stamps featuring three designs: a Hausa chief, Hausa woman, and Hausa warrior. Upper Volta's first stamps were issues of Upper Senegal and Niger overprinted "HAUTE-VOLTE", appearing in 1920. Prior to the creation of French Upper Volta in 1919, postal service in the area was administered by Senegambia and Niger and then Upper Senegal and Niger. The story of the posts in Burkina Faso begins in the 1890s, with French penetration into the area and the establishment of military posts.
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