Mali's landscape is mostly a savanna grassland that rolls into higher plateaus as you move north. Rugged hills with elevations that reach upwards of 3,280 ft (1,000 m) dot the northeast.
Approximately 65% of the country is covered by desert or semi-desert.
The lowest point of the country is the Senegal River at 75 ft (23 m); the highest point of Mali is Hombori Tondo at 3,789 ft (1,155 m).
The largest rivers in Mali are the Niger and Senegal. Considered to be Mali's lifeblood (its source of food, drinking water, irrigation and transportation) the Niger River snakes through roughly 2,600 miles (4,180 km) of western Africa.
