| Kayes | |
| Native Name: | Kayi, Xaayi |
| Settlement Type: | Commune and city |
| Translit Lang1 Info: | Kayi |
| Translit Lang1 Type1: | Soninké |
| Translit Lang1 Info1: | Xaayi |
| Pushpin Map: | Mali |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kayes |
| Subdivision Type2: | Cercle |
| Established Title1: | Town founded |
| Established Date1: | 1880s |
| Elevation M: | 33 |
| Population As Of: | 2009 census |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 127368 |
| Timezone: | GMT |
| Utc Offset: | +0 |
| Coordinates: | 14.45°N -37°W |
Kayes (Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ tr. Kayi, Soninké: Xaayi) is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of the administrative region of the same name. The name "Kayes" comes from the Soninke word "karré", which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season. The city is located 420km (260miles) northwest of the capital Bamako.
Prior to French colonial expansion, Kayes was a small village. Its location on the path of the future Dakar-Niger Railway, and the French need for trade centers, led to the creation of the Kayes market town in 1881. It remains a transport hub, primarily for Senegalese trade, to this day. In 1892, Kayes became the capital of the French Sudan; Bamako replaced it as the capital, first of the state of Haut Sénégal-Niger on October 17, 1899, then as the capital of all of French Sudan in 1908.
During World War II, a portion of Poland's gold reserve, evacuated during the German-Soviet invasion in 1939, was stored for several years in Kayes before being transported to the United States in 1944, to be returned to Poland after the occupation and war ended.[2]
Kayes lies on the Route Nationale 1 (RN1) highway and is 612km (380miles) by road from Bamako and 96km (60miles) from the border with Senegal. The town has an international airport (Kayes Airport), and lies on the Dakar-Niger Railway which offered regional passenger train service to Bamako three times a week via Kati and Diamou as of 2013.[3] The area is rich in gold and iron.
Kayes has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh). The climate is subject to the West African Monsoon with all the rainfall occurring between June and October. August is the wettest month. There is almost no rainfall during the other seven months of the year. The total annual rainfall is around 6500NaN0. Kayes is nicknamed the "pressure cooker of Africa" due to its extreme heat; the town is surrounded by iron-rich mountains which contribute to the temperature. The town has been described as the hottest continuously inhabited town in Africa. The average daily high temperature in the city is 36.4°C, with temperatures usually peaking in April and May at an average of nearly 42°C.[4]
Sites found in and around Kayes include: