Ménaka is a rural commune and town in Ménaka Cercle, Gao Region, in eastern Mali. It is the local government seat and largest town in the Cercle, and one of four rural communes. Ménaka is in the midst of the Saharan desert, along wadi Ezgeuret, and ancient dry river valley of the Iullemmeden Basin. Ménaka Cercle is a rural, isolated, and largely desert area, crisscrossed by seasonal wadis, part of the Azawagh region.