Oti River, river in West Africa, rising in the southern plain of Burkina Faso. It meanders southward, briefly flowing along the Togo-Benin border. It cuts south-southwest across northern Togo and then forms the Ghana-Togo border for about 60 miles (100 km) before continuing southward through Ghana to empty into Lake Volta (created in the dammed Volta River). It is approximately 320 miles (520 km) long, and its basin is about 500 feet (150 meters) above sea level. The river may have once been a tributary of the Niger. Its major riparian towns are Mango, Togo, and Nambiri, Ghana.