km downstream from Bamako) and Gao, a distance of 1308 km. Both passengers and freight are also transported by pinasses, large wooden canoe shaped vessels, that are privately operated. Mopti is connected by a 12 km elevated causeway to Sévaré which lies on the Route Nationale 16 (RN16), the bitumen surfaced road that links Bamako in the west to Gao in the east. There is an airport at Sévaré. Culture The city is the subject of a 1999 documentary film, L'Esprit de Mopti. It is also the birthplace of Slovak celebrity Ibrahim Maiga. Demographics {| class="infobox" style="width: 20.0em" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 |- Niger River at Mopti |- | |- | style="padding: 0px; padding-left: 0.3em; text-align: left" | Average monthly flow (m3/s) at the Mopti hydrometric station over the period 1922-1990 |} Many ethnic groups are present in the commune including Fula, Bozo, Bambara, Dogon, Songhai, Bobos and Mossis. The most spoken language is Fula followed by Bozo. Climate Mopti has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh). The town lies near the southern boundary of the Sahel region and the weather is hot to sweltering and arid throughout much of the year. Nearly all the rainfall occurs between June and September. Average daily maximum temperatures in the hottest months of the year – April and May – exceed . Temperatures are slightly cooler, though still very hot, from June through September, when practically all of the annual rainfall occurs. Only the winter months of December and January have average daily maximum temperatures below . See also List of cities in Mali St. Joseph Cathedral, Mopti References Further reading . Extracts from the Université de Rouen: pages 528-535, pages 561-566. External links Pictures of Mopti and villages around it Regional capitals in Mali Communes of Mopti Region Inner Niger Delta Massina Empire Communities on the Niger River Bani River French West Africa