The Sankarani River is a tributary of the Niger River

Niger River

The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...

 Flowing northward from the Fouta Djallon

Fouta Djallon

Fouta Djallon is a highland region in the centre of Guinea, West Africa. The indigenous name is Fuuta-Jaloo...

 highlands of Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

, it crosses into southern Mali

Mali

Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

, where it joins the Niger approximately 40 km upstream of Bamako

Bamako

Bamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world...

. It forms a part of the Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

 – Guinea border and a part of the Guinea–Mali border.

The Sankarani River watershed, traditionally well suited to crops and rich in iron and gold, covers some 35500 km², two thirds of which are in Guinea, where it is joined by its largest tributary, the Dion River. In Mali, it flows into the Niger River

Niger River

The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...

 upstream of Bamako. Prior to the construction of the Selingue Dam

Selingue Dam

The Sélingué Dam is a single purpose hydroelectric dam located in the Koulikoro Region, on the Sankarani River, one of the affluents of the Niger River...

 in 1980, the Sankarani had an average discharge where it met the Niger of 405 m³/s. From 1980 to 2004, this average has dropped to 265 m³/s.

At the height of its power, from the 13th to 16th centuries CE, the capital of the ancient Mali Empire

Mali Empire

The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...

is believed to have been at Niani, on the banks of Sankarani .