Flag of Burkina Faso of black, white, and red. These colours represented the three major tributaries of the Volta River, which flows south through the country: the Black Volta, the White Volta and the Red Volta. It is similar to the tricolor flag used by the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The flag was changed when Upper Volta became Burkina Faso on 4 August 1984. From 1984 until 1997, the official Burkina Faso coat of arms used a revolutionary central crest featuring a mattock crossed with a Soviet AK-47 assault rifle, along with an open book symbolising the importance of education and the
Volta River plant generates electricity for the Volta River Authority, and the reservoir also provides water transport routes. It may be a resource for irrigation and fish farming. The depth of the river is about below Lake Volta. The Volta River is crossed by the Adome Bridge just below the Akosombo Dam. The Volta River was named by Portuguese gold traders in Ghana. It was their farthest extent of exploration before returning ("volta" is Portuguese for "twist" or "turn"). ""River of return"" (perhaps because it was where ships turned around and headed for home) or “river of the bend”, in reference to