It flows from a source west of Bamako to the Bakoy downastream of Toukoto and forms part of the Senegal watershed.

[1][2] The Baoulé's source is in the hills 120 kilometers south-west of Bamako near the Guinean border.

Throughout this stretch, it constitutes the northern limit of the Boucle du Baoulé National Park.

It reaches the Bakoye on the right bank, about twelve kilometers downstream from Toukoto, almost doubling its flow.

The average monthly flow, tracked over a period of 39 years (1952-1990) at a station opposite the small town of Bougouda at the Bakoy-Baoule confluence, was 64 cubic metres (2,300 cu ft) for a drainage area of approximately 65,000 square kilometres (7.0×1011 sq ft).