Cameroon Geography
Cameroon is located in the Gulf of Guinea.
It borders to the north and west with Nigeria, to the south with Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo Brazzaville to the east with the Central African Republic and Chad. To the west it borders the Atlantic Ocean.
There are several regions in the country. One of them is the coastal region that goes from the border coast with Nigeria to the border with Equatorial Guinea. The most important city on the Cameroonian coast is Buea. Subsequently, the height of the country gradually rises: thus, Douala is almost at sea level, in the Wouri River estuary, and Yaoundé is already located at about 700 meters above sea level. Past Yaoundé is a mountainous massif that separates this part of the country from the north. The most important city in this mountainous area is Tibesti. The north the territory is flatter. The most important cities in northern Cameroon are Garoua and Maroua. In the far north of the country lies a portion of Lake Chad. In the south and southeast the territory turns into jungle, which becomes thicker as we approach the border with Congo Brazzaville. On the western plateau (the Cameroon mountain range), on the border with Nigeria, is the Anglophone part of the country, whose largest city is Bamenda.
Relief
3 main groups can be distinguished:
- Lowlands: the valley of Manfait, the valley of Benue and the plains of the north.
- Mesetas: mainly south of Cameroon, with an average altitude of 650 meters and the Adamoua plateau, which is a tectonic massif reaching 1100 m, on average,
- Highlands: the western highlands, covered with basaltic efusions arranged in rows called the Camerunesa Dorsal. The greatest reliefs range from 1500 to 4000 m and the most well-known peaks are the Mandara Mountains, Alantika, and the mount of Mount Oku, the Bamboutos, the Manenguba and Mount Cameroon.
Climate and biogeography
In Cameroon, the climate is tropical, semi-arid in the north and humid and rainy in the rest of the country, with an equatorial zone near the coast. In practically the entire country, there is a dry season in winter and a wet season in summer due to the monsoon, short in the north and long in the south. Along the coast there are showers all year round. On the shores of Lake Chad, less than 600 mm fall annually, while on the coast it exceeds 3,000 mm.
The equatorial zone
It is characterized by abundant rainfall, high temperatures and constant thermal amplitude, giving rise to low and degraded vegetation as it moves away from the equator. There are two variants
- Climate type Guinean
It reigns in a part of the coast and in the plateau of southern Cameroon; It has 4 well-defined seasons. A rainy season, a long dry season, a short dry season, and a short rainy season.
In Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon and also of the Center region, about 1,540 mm fall quite distributed. In December and January they fall 20 mm, between March and June they fall more than 100 mm, with 200 mm in May, it drops to 75 mm in July and rises again to a maximum of 295 mm in October, with 95 mm in November. Temperatures range from 20 to 30oC in January, and 19 and 27.oC in May, so they are very homogeneous. The sky is usually cloudy, even in the dry period from December to February.
The Central region is made up of Cambrian and metamorphic rocks, dominated by granite on the border with the Adamawa plateau. The red, ferruginous soils, although deep, are of little use for agriculture. At the confluence of the Sanaga and Mbam rivers there is a mixture of different types of soil. The region is part of the South Cameroonian Plateau, south of the Adamawa Plateau and southeast of the Cameroonian Mountains. The altitude varies between 500 and 1,000 m, except in the valleys of the Sanaga River and tributaries, where it drops to 200 m. The climate is of the Guinean type, with rainfall between 1000 and 2000 mm per year, higher in the south. The average temperature is 24.oC. The long dry season lasts from December to May, then there is a short wet season from March to June, a short dry season from July to August, and a long rainy season from late August to mid-November.
The vegetation is dense, especially in the south, where the humid forest dominates, with trees up to 40 m tall and with large roots, among them the metel, the Guibourtia, the iroco, the mahogany and obeche. The forest has disappeared in the valleys of the Djérem, Mbam and Noun rivers, and in the extreme north, where there is wooded savannah. There are banana, taro and yam plantations, although cocoa is king. Sugar cane, rice, coffee, tobacco and oil palm are also grown.
- Climate type Camerunés
It reigns in the vicinity of Mount Cameroon and extends to the mouth of the Sanaga, encompassing the western highlands. Its characteristic is the superabundance of rain that falls in an annual season of 9 months.
In Douala, the capital of the Littoral region, 3,600 mm fall annually, with a dry period between December and February (30-50 mm each month) and a long wet period between March and November that culminates in July and August with more of 600mm. In this last month it rains 30 days and 690 mm fall. The temperatures, very homogeneous, oscillate between 23 and 32.oC in January and 23 and 28.oC in August.
In the South region, on the southern coast, south of the South Cameroonian plateau, the terrain rises from the sea to 300-600 m. Rainfall along the coastline is 2,000-3,000 mm and 1,500-2,000 mm inland, with a drier season from December to May and a less dry season in July-August. The region is covered with humid forest and mangroves on the coast. The population is made up mostly of Bantu ethnic groups. Agriculture includes taro, maize, cassava, cassava, groundnuts, and large cocoa plantations.
The Cameroon Range includes the Cameroon Western High Plateau, a volcanic mountain range in the south-west of the country, near Nigeria, and extending seaward at 4,040m Mount Cameroon. On the plateau, rainfall is between 1,000 and 2,000 mm and decreases to the north. There is a dry season from December to February and average temperatures drop to 20oC. The Cross River and some tributaries of the Sanaga River are born here. To the west are the Bamboutos Mountains, a volcanic system that borders Nigeria culminating in Mount Oku, at 3,011 m. The rains exceed 2500 mm. The volcanic land, with steep slopes, is not very fertile.
- Mount Cameroon is an exception, as it rises in the face of the sea abruptly to over 4,000 m and receives all the winds. A series of observatories have recorded rainfall over the past 30 years and obtained measurements that vary dramatically. In Idenau, from an annual maximum of 12,449 mm to a minimum of 3,03 mm, with an average of 8,392 mm. In Debundscha, from a maximum of 16.965 mm to a minimum of 4.153 mm, with an average of 9,086 mm. Both stations on the west coast, at low altitude. On the opposite side, in the northeast of the coast, the rains descend, in Tole, at 700 m, from 4.978 to 1,503 mm, and in Moliko, at 400 m, from 2.867 to 1.356 mm, with an average of 2.141 mm. In Mpundu, even further north, 40 m and 44 km from the coast, the average is 2.085 mm, with a minimum of 438 mm and a maximum of 5,246 mm. In the most humid places, rainfall exceeds 1,000 mm between June and October, with almost daily rains, and in the dry ones, fall from 20 mm in December and January. On the other hand, from November to April dust invasions from the Sahara can be given due to the harmatan, which reduce dust visibility to less than 1 km between 1,000 and 3000 m of altitude.
The tropical zone
It has 2 variants:
- Sudanese tropical climate
In the center of the country. With high temperatures and little rainfall, it has 2 seasons: a 7-month rainy season (very warm from May to June and cool and humid from July to October) and a 5-month dry season (November to January).
In Ngaoundéré, at 1,200 m altitude on the Ngaoundéré Plateau, in the Adamawa region, 1,540 mm falls, with more than 100 mm between April and October, and maximums of more than 200 mm between June and September. It hardly rains between November and March. Temperatures range from 12 to 30.oC on January, 17 and 30.oC on April, and 17 and 25.oC in August, with 285 mm and 23 rainy days. On the Ngaoundéré plateau is the Tchabal Nganha stratovolcano, 1,927 m high. In this area, the main rivers flow into the Logone River, and this into Lake Chad.
To the south is the Adamawa Plateau, which stretches from Nigeria through Cameroon to the Central African Republic, with an average elevation of 1,000 m and peaks exceeding 2,000 m. Bordering Nigeria, this region is made up of granite and other metamorphic formations. The rains oscillate between 900 and 1500 mm, and descend towards the north. In the center and west, where the Benue River rises, there are important bauxite mines and the northeast is covered with basaltic rocks. The soils are mostly lateritic, red and ferruginous, washed by heavy rains. The region is bordered to the south by the South Cameroonian plateau, with an equatorial Guinean climate.
This transition region between the Guinean forest and the Sahel savannah is extensively humanized. The savannah hardly has any trees, although they grow up to 1800 m, with a predominance of bamboo and ferns. In the southern transition zone is the 4,200 km² Mbam and Djerem National Park.
- The tropical climate of the Sahel
Temperatures are high, but with great irregularity in the rains. In Maroua, in the Far North region, Lake Chad basin, about 760 mm of rain falls annually, almost all between May and September, with torrential rains exceeding 200 mm in July and August, and practically none between November and March, which gives rise to a Sahelian landscape. The land is flat in the north, alluvial, between 200 and 500 m altitude. In the southwest is the Mandara massif, of volcanic origin, which culminates in Mount Tourou (Turú), 1,140 m high. In this area is the town of Rhumsiki, on the border with Nigeria, relatively touristy due to the volcanic pitons. In this warm zone, temperatures range from 17 to 32.oC in January; from 25 to 40.oC, in May, before the rains, and from 21 to 30.oC in August, when rainfall exceeds 230mm. The savannah with bushes and trees predominates, among which the baobabs, the Faidherbia, an evergreen and thorny tree, and the shea tree stand out. In the area are the national park of Waza, of 1700 km² and the smaller one of Kalamaloué, of 45 km²; in both there are cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, lions, hyenas, leopards, crocodiles, hippos, etc. Rainfalls, from 400 to 900 mm, increase in the Mandara Mountains. There are about 50 tribal groups in the north, dominated by the Fulani.
Hydrography
Watersheds and rivers
The main rivers of Cameroon are the following:
- in the Atlantic Ocean Basin: the Wouri, the Nkam, the Noun, the Sanaga River (918 km) and the Nyong River (640 km);
- in the Congo River basin: the Bok, the Lobe, the Sangha and the Dja River;
- in the Niger River basin: the May Kebbi, the Benue River (1,370 km) and the Faro;
- in the Lake Chad basin: the Logone River (950 km), the Vina and the Chari River (1400 km).
The Sanaga is the longest river that runs entirely in Cameroon (918 km).
Lakes
The main lakes in Cameroon are, depending on the type, the following:
- crater lakes: Lake Oku, Lake Tizong, Lake Bini, Lake Barombi and Lake Nyos
- Lake Ossa, Lake Dissoni and Lake Ejagal;
- lakes: Lake Chad and Lake Fianga;
- Artificial lakes: Lake Bamendjing (on the Noun River) and Lake Mbakaou (on the Djerem River, the high course of the Sanaga).
Hydrology - country's water balance
The rainfall that falls in the country is quite abundant, on average, feeding rivers that often have a large flow.
According to Aquastat, the average annual precipitation level is 1,604 millimeters for an area of 475,440 square kilometers, an annual precipitation volume of 762.61 cubic kilometers.
Of this volume of precipitation, evapo-transpiration and infiltration consume 494.61 km³. There are 268 cubic kilometers of surface water produced in the country (interior). In addition, each year an amount of renewable groundwater of 5 cubic kilometers is produced, also in the interior of the country. All makes a total volume of 273 cubic kilometers of internally produced water.
The country also receives water from neighboring countries, namely 4 km³ from the Republic of Chad represents the flow of tributaries of the Benue River (Mayo Kebbi) and 8.5 km³ from Chad formed by half the flow of 17 km³ of the Logone, border river. Making a total of 12.5 km³ of external origin.
The country's water resources, therefore, amount to a total of 285.5 cubic kilometers. For a population of about 18 million people, the annual quantity of water available per inhabitant and year is therefore more or less 15,800 m³, which is very high.
It should be added that a part of the volume of water produced in the country, amounting to 40 km³ per year, leaves the territory and reaches the following countries:
- To Nigeria: 29 km3 (the Benue River and its tributaries)
- Towards Chad: 4.7 km3 (the Logone)
- Towards the Republic of the Congo: 6.3 km 3 (the Sangha and its tributaries, such as the Dja)
Ethnic groups of Cameroon
In Cameroon there are about 250 different ethnic groups that form five major cultural regions:
- The peoples of the Western Messetas, including the Bamileke confederation of the Bantu ethnic group, made up of about 90 political entities with more than 2 million inhabitants, the Bamun and the Tikar.
- The villages of the tropical coastal forests, including the Bassa people (over 500,000), the dual, which are part of the sawa, and other coastal villages.
- The peoples of the southern tropical forests, including beti-pahuin (over 5 million), bulus (about 150,000), ewondo (about 250,000), fang (over 3 million in Cameroon) and the Baka Pygmies.
- The peoples of the northern and central semi-arid regions of the Sahel, including the peuls or fulani (almost 3 million in Cameroon, of a total of 40 million, of which 17 million live in Nigeria).
- The Kyrdi, a group of ethnic groups in northern Cameroon and Chad, so called in a derogatory manner (pagans) by the Islamized ethnic groups in the area, such as the fulani). Among the villages are the bata, the fali, the fata, the gemjek, the guidar, the giziga, the hurza, the kapsiki, the mada, the mafa, the massa, the matakam, the mofu, the Moa, the musgum, the musgum, the uldeme, the podoko, the tupuri, the vame and the zulgo. They speak Chadian languages and Adamawa languages.
Protected areas of Cameroon
In Cameroon there are almost 50,000 km² of protected territory, 10.6 percent of the country's surface, and 502 km² of marine surface, 3.41 percent of territorial waters, about 14,700 km². In total, there are 26 national parks, 6 wildlife sanctuaries and 5 fauna reserves.
National Parks
- Bakossi National Park, 293,2 km2
- Bénoué National Park, 1,800 km2
- Boubandjida National Park, 2,200 km2
- Boumba Bek National Park, 2,382 km2
- Campo-Ma’an National Park, 2,604 km2, border with the Rio Campo Natural Reserve, Equatorial Guinea (330 km2).
- Faro National Park, 3,300 km2
- Korup National Park, 1.260 km2
- Lobéké National Park, 2,178 km2, south-east of Cameroon. Along with the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (3,921 km2), the Republic of the Congo, and the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park (1,143 km2), of the Central African Republic, forms the Trinational Site of Sangha, joined by a corridor to the Boumba Bek National Park.
- Mbam and Djerem National Park, 4,235 km2
- Nki National Park, 3.093 km2
- Takamanda National Park, 676 km2
- Waza National Park, 1700 km2. Part of a large savannah area in the north, along with the Faro National Park, border with Nigeria and the Kalamaloué National Park on the border with Chad.
- Mbéré Valley National Park, 741 km2
- Kimbi-Fungom National Park, 990 km2
- Monte Cameroon National Park, 581 km2
- Deng Deng National Park, 687 km2
- Kalamaloué National Park, 66.89 km2 (proposed)
- Mefou National Park, 11.01 km2 (proposed)
- Tchabal Mbabo National Park, 1,068 km2 (proposed)
- Manyange na Elombo-Campo National Park, 1,103 km2 (proposed)
- Ndongere National Park, 2,345 km2 (proposed)
- Ma Mbed Mbed National Park, 142 km2 (proposed)
- Mozogo Gokoro National Park, 17.24 km2 (proposed)
- Kom National Park, 678 km2 (proposed)
- Ebo National Park (1,417 km2 (proposed)
Nature sanctuaries
- Bayang-Mbo nature sanctuary, 664 km2
- Shrine of the nature of Kilum Ijim, 11 km2
- Sanctuary of the nature of Kagwene, 19 km2
- Sanctuary of the nature of Tofala, 1,567 km2
- Rumpi Hills nature sanctuary, 452 km2
- Shrine of the nature of Mengame, 267 km2
- Ngoyla-Mintom wildlife reserve, 1,566 km2
- Dja wildlife reserve, 5,266 km2
- Ossa Lake wildlife reserve, 45,39 km2
- Douala Edéa wildlife reserve, 2,715 km2
- Santchou wildlife reserve, 95 km2