Geography of Niger
Niger is a country in Africa bordered by Algeria and Libya to the north, Chad to the east, Benin and Nigeria to the south, Burkina Faso to the west, and Mali to the north and west.. Its capital is Niamey.
The territory consists of two distinct parts: one on the banks of the Niger River and another inland dominated by the Sahara desert. Regarding the first, it is Niamey, the capital of the country. This area bordering the Niger River is, along with the entire border with Nigeria, where the country's main population centers are located (Zinder, Maradi or Tillabéry).
The rest of the country is dominated by the Sahara desert, which reaches its maximum splendor in Ténéré. Since it was fertile land before it became deserted, there are still many vestiges in the desert. Also within the desert there are mountainous massifs such as the Air. The most important cities in this "inland" of the country are Tahoua and Agadez.
Finally, in the extreme southeast of the country lies a part of Lake Chad.
Relief
Niger occupies a significant part of the Sahara desert and the Sahel, and its landscapes are composed mainly of deserts, dunes and arid plateaus. Only 2% of the country, in the southernmost part, is made up of forests and wetlands. The Niger River crosses the tail of Niger, if we assume that it has the shape of a fish that looks to the northeast, it enters Mali from the northwest, crosses next to the cities of Ayorou, Tilabéyu and Niamey, the capital, it forms part of the border with Benin and enter Nigeria from the south. The rest of the country is a vast ancient peneplain, with an average altitude of 350 m. In the north, the Air Mountains dot the desert with a series of nine massifs; in the south is the highest point in the country, Mount Idoukal-n-Taghès, at 2,022 m. In the extreme northeast is the Djado plateau and in the southeast the Lake Chad basin, which borders this country. The country can be divided into three parts:
Southern Niger
The southern part of Niger is a 1,300 km long strip that runs from the Nigerian border to Mali. Its width does not exceed 200 km (N'Guigmi, Tanout, Tahoua, Mali). It is the least arid part of the national territory and constitutes the "useful Niger". To the east, the Damagaram relief divides the waters of the Lake Chad and Atlantic basins. Clay basins can maintain a lacustrine zone. This region is composed mainly of sandstone plateaus, with mantles of sand, depressions, and fossil valleys reactivated in the rainy season. To the west, the plateau is cut by the valley of the Niger River and the fossil valleys of Bosso and Maouri.
The Air
The Aïr Mountains form a mountainous massif located in the northwest of the country, extending over 300 km from north to south and 200 km from east to west, between 17° and 20°30' N and 7°30' and 10° E. It presents a group of crystalline and volcanic massifs that emerge from an ancient base. It includes three main geological units: Precambrian base, pale gray in color; paleozoic subvolcanic ring-shaped features, dark gray to black; and tertiary and quaternary volcanism, black. The three main petrographic types are characterized, the first, by the dominance of alkaline granitic rocks, the second, composed essentially of volcanic rocks, and the third, by a whole series of plutonic rocks, from gabbro to granite.
The rock is a highly eroded Cambrian metamorphic plateau from which a series of isolated flat-topped mountains emerge. From north to south there are nine, Adrar Bous, Fadei, Greboun, Tamgak, Chirriet, Taghmert, Agueraguer, Takaloukouzet and Goundai. Most are granite intrusions, except for the Takaloukouzet massif, which is made of conglomerate, the Arakao caldera, volcanic, from the Tertiary and Quaternary, the Izouzaoene mountains in the Addax sanctuary, made of blue marble, and the hills of the valley of Zagado, white marble. Massifs and plains are deeply cut by ancient canyons and flood wadis. The soils are scarce, mainly coarse sand, gravel and stones, although some gypsum and silt can be found in the wadis.
Altitudes exceed 1,000 m: the highest point of the Aïr Mountains is Mount Idoukal-n-Taghès (2,022 m). The southern slope plunges into a depression dominated by the Tiguidit cliff. The eastern slope is in contact with the Ténéré desert. To the west, the transition is taking place rapidly with the Talak Plain and the Azawak and Tamesna regions. The Air presents varied slopes in the center of a monotonous and hyper-arid plain.
The Tuareg group of the Kel Owey were the dominant power in the Air Mountains from the 18th century until the arrival of the French at the beginning of the XX century. The Kel Owey controlled the center of the three main trade routes between the Sahel and the Mediterranean, especially the route between the Fulani Caliphate of Sokoto in the south, and Ghadamés, across the desert, in the north. They transported, in caravans, furs, hides, ostrich feathers, gold and other goods, and several thousand slaves each year. The Tuareg had camels, horses, cows, goats and sheep that they sold. They also traded in salt, traveling several hundred kilometers east of the Air to the oases of Kawar and Fachi, where they sold grain and manufactured goods in exchange for cones of salt at Bilma and other points.
The Tenere
The Ténéré desert, in the Timbuktu region, makes up most of the northeast of the country, with an extension of 700 km long by 500 km wide. It is a hyper-arid sandy plain, bounded on the west by the mountains of air; to the north, by the mountains of Hoggar; to the northeast by the Djado and Magueni plateaus; to the east by the Tibesti mountains and the Kaouar cliff, and to the south by the Lake Chad depression. It is, with the Majabat al Koubra and the Libyan desert, the driest area of the current Sahara. If the part it occupies in Chad is added, its extension is close to 450,000 km². The central part of the desert is the erg of Bilma, an immense sea of dunes that extends from the Fachi oasis, east of Air, to the city of Bilma, with important salt mines and the southernmost of a series of oases. situated from north to south along the Kaouar cliff, which was the route used by caravaners between the Fezzan of Libya and the Sudan, protected by the feudal lords of the Kanem-Bornu Empire. Another subregion of this desert is called the Ténéré de Tafassaset. A fossil river, the Azawad, born in the Air mountains, once fed a large lake in the now-defunct Ténéré. In turn, another great fossil river, the Tafassaset, born in the Adrar massif, crossed the Ténéré, with a large number of tributaries, on its way to Lake Chad. Throughout its course there are scattered pre-Islamic burial mounds and lithic remains and useful testimony of an ancient agricultural activity.
The Air and Ténéré nature reserves together add up to 7.7 million hectares, that is, 77,000 km². They include the eruptive massif of Air and the Saharan desert of Ténéré. The Ténéré has been a World Heritage Site since 1991. Inside, about 200 km northeast of Agadez, is the monument built to the last tree that served as an orientation to the travelers who crossed from the Air to Bilma, the Ténéré Tree. One of the most important wells on the trans-Saharan route is that of Acheggour, on the last cliff before Kaouar.
Geology
To the west of Niger, Precambrian rocks predominate to a great extent, with an igneous and metamorphic crystalline base more than 2.2 billion years old, formed in the final eons of the Archean and Proterozoic eras. The Lake Volta Basin, the Air Mountains, and the Iullemmeden Basin begin to form in the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic, along with numerous rings of volcanic origin and events such as an ice age and the Pan-African orogeny. Niger has large mineral resources due to its complex mineralization and laterite, comprising uranium, molybdenum, iron, coal, silver, nickel, cobalt and others.
The Iullemmeden Basin (Uellemeden and even Azawad Basin), west of the Air, is the largest sub-Saharan inland basin in West Africa. It extends about 1,000 km from north to south and about 800 km from east to west, with about 360,000 km². Covers western Niger and portions of Algeria, Mali, Benin and Nigeria. It receives this name from the Tuareg people of the Iullemmeden, who live in the central region of Niger, whose geographical framework coincides with the Azawagh region. It is believed that it began to subside in the Permo-Triassic period, and at the end of the Cretaceous and the Paleogene it began to sink and fill with sediments. It is crossed by two faults from NNE to SSW in the center, and a WSW-ENE fault to the northeast, near the Air. During the Cambrian and Pleistocene it was filled with sediments reaching a thickness of 1,500 to 2,000 m, with alternating layers from when it was above and below sea level. The uranium deposits stand out, as well as copper, coal and salt.
The massif of Air, the Hoggar and the Adrar of the Iforas form the Tuareg shield, which, together with the Benin-Nigeria shield, forms part of the mobile belt of Central Africa, deformed by the pan-African orogeny of about 600 million years ago of years. The crystalline base of the Air is composed of a highly metamorphosed core with intrusions of Pan-African granites. The Precambrian base is joined by ring-shaped subvolcanic structures of the Paleozoic and Cenozoic volcanism. The ring-dike, a ring-shaped or ring-dike produced by an elevation of lava in a volcanic cone, at Meugueur-Meugueur, in the Air massif, is one of the largest in the world, with a diameter of 65 km. The Taguei intrusion, on the other hand, at 800 m, is one of the smallest.
The oldest rocks in Niger are found in the southwest, coming from the Birimian formation that extends through northern Ghana and Burkina Faso, over 2.2 billion years old. The Liptako area is part of the West African gold belt. The uranium is mined from two concessions, one at Arlit and the other at Akouta, 250 km northwest of Agadez. COMINAK (Compagnie minière d'Akokan) is the Niger mining company that extracts the uranium. There is also the Imouraren uranium mine whose exploitation permit is in the hands of the French company Areva, until 2020 without exploiting it because it considers it is not a good vein.
Climate
Located in one of the hottest and sunniest areas on Earth, Niger has a primarily desert climate and is extremely dry. Three climatic regimes are distinguished: the arid Saharan, to the north; the sahelo-tropical, semi-desert transition regime of the Air region, and the semi-arid savannah, Sahelian, to the south. There are three seasons: warm (March to May), rainy (June to September), and cold (October to February).
The north is mild in winter, with large temperature variations. It can be cold at night and warm during the day, especially in February, and it is very warm the rest of the year, and almost always sunny. In the town of Bilma, located in the northeast, in the Agadez region, at an altitude of 350 m, between 14 and 24 mm of rain fall annually, there can be storms between July and September, almost only in August, and the rest of the The year is dry, with temperatures ranging between a minimum of 9 °C and a maximum of 28 °C in January, and 25-27 °C and 42-44 °C between June and August. Further north, on the Djado plateau and in the center, in the Air mountains and even in the Ténéré desert, temperatures can drop to close to 0°C at night. Probably the coldest place is Mount Idoukal-n-Taghès, summit of the Air, at 2,022 m, where it often freezes. The rest of the year, the heat reigns, with maximums that exceed 40 °C and reach 50 °C between April and September. When the harmattan blows, dust clouds the skies, especially from January.
In the south-central region, the monsoons arrive in summer. In the northernmost areas, on the southern slopes of the Air and in Agadez, more than 100 mm of rain can be exceeded. In Agadez, with an average temperature of 28 °C, between 110 and 121 mm of annual rain fall, almost all between June and August, with a maximum in August of up to 50 mm. Temperatures range from 14 °C to 29 °C in January, and 28 °C to 42 °C in May and June.
In the south, the monsoon influence is more notable, in winter it is not so cold at night, although it can drop to 7-8 °C in January, and rise to 32 °C that same month. In spring, when the rains approach and the sun begins to move towards the tropic of cancer, it is when it is hottest, with minimums of 28-29 °C and maximums of 42 °C in Niamey, where the proximity of the Niger river prevents that it cools down too much at night (minimums of 15-17 °C) Sometimes temperatures exceed 45 °C in May, but the arrival of the rains lowers the summer temperatures, at the cost of an increase in humidity, with 25 °C minimum and 35 °C maximum in August in Niamey, where rainfall ranges between 500 and 600 mm per year, concentrated between May and October, with a peak of 140 mm in July and between 170 and 205 mm in August.
In the extreme south, on the border with Burkina Faso, Benin and Nigeria, rainfall exceeds 600 mm in a savannah landscape. In Gaya, on the border with Benin and Nigeria, along the Niger River, more than 800mm falls between May and September, with more than 200mm in August and more than 100mm in June, July and September. Here, April, with an average of 33.7 °C, is the warmest month, and January, with an average of 25.8 °C, the coldest.
Hydrography
The hydrographic network is poor due to the drought that generally dominates most of the country. This network includes:
- The Niger River, the third largest river in Africa, with 4,200 kilometres long, including 500 kilometres in Niger.
- Fluents: Tapoa, Mekrou, Sirba, Dargol, Gorouol, Goroubi or Diamangou. This region of the Niger River is named after Useful Niger.
- Lakes and rivers: Lake Chad, River Komadugu Yobe, Lakes of Madarounfa, Abalak and Guidimouni.
- Important groundwater resources, with a large but deep underground layer in the north of the country. Most of the population live in areas with abundant underground resources in the south. The aquifers in sedimentary formations are located in the west and east of the country. The aquifers on the crystalline socket provide water in the rural areas of Tillaberi, Zinder, Maradi and Agadez. In 2000, it was estimated that the renewable water reserve was 2.5 billion m3, and the non-renewable underground was 2 billion m3.
In Niger there are around thirty small dams, of which a dozen are unfinished. The most important, still to be completed, is the Kandadji one, on the Niger River, in the Tillabéri region, 180 km northwest of Niamey. Construction began in 2008 and it is expected to open in 2020. The dam is 28 m high and 8,780 m long. The reservoir will cover an area of 282 km². It will have 4 turbines that will produce 130 MW. The volume of the package will cause the consequent displacement of the population.
Water balance of the country
According to Aquastat, the average annual precipitation water level is 151 mm for an area of 1,267,000 square kilometers, which totals an annual precipitation volume of 191,317 km³.
Of this volume of precipitation, evapo-transpiration and infiltration consume 190.3 km³. There remains 1 cubic kilometer of surface water as a resource produced in the country. In addition, a quantity of renewable groundwater of 2.5 cubic kilometers is produced each year.
To these resources of 3.5 km³ produced internally, we must add 30.15 cubic kilometers of water produced outside the country and which are part of the resources that can be used by the country once they cross the border. One of them is the flow contributed from Mali by the Niger River at a rate of approximately 28 cubic kilometers and from Burkina Faso (1 km³). On the other hand, about 1.15 cubic kilometers, due to the border rivers, coming from Benin and Nigeria, of which 50% of the total flow of 2.3 km³ returns to the Niger and constitutes a supplementary contribution (it is a tributary of the Niger that forms the border between Niger and Benin). Taking these contributions into account, the country's total water resources amount to about 33.65 cubic kilometers per year for a population estimated at 12 million inhabitants in 2007, about 2,800 m³ of water per capita, which - contrary to many ideas wrong - is satisfactory (for comparison, Germany has only a little more than 1,850 m³ of water per capita, and France about 3,300 m³ per year).
In addition, the water that leaves the country can reach 32.4 km³ in the direction of Nigeria, especially, and in a small part of Lake Chad.
Protected areas of Niger
In Niger, 206,090 km², 17.32 percent of the territory (1,109,099 km²), are under some kind of protection regime. There is 1 national park, 1 nature reserve, 1 partial wildlife reserve, 2 wildlife reserves, 2 national nature reserves and 1 strict reserve. In addition, there are 2 biosphere reserves listed by Unesco, 2 World Heritage Sites and 12 Ramsar sites.
- Niger W National Park, 2200 km2. It is part of the W-Arly Pendjari Complex, also called the Transfrontier Reserve of the W-Arly-Pendjari Biosphere, a set of protected areas in the Western African savannah belt that form a continuous mosaic of nine protected areas, the W Complex or W Region, northeast, shared by Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, the Pendjari National Park and the Integral Reserve Together, the central part of the complex covers about 17,150 km2, a succession of Sudanese-Sahelian ecosystems in good condition. The addition of up to 16 partial reserves and hunting areas would expand the complex to 32,250 km2.
- Total reserve of Tadres fauna, 7,88 km2, 79 ha, southwest of Agadez, valley of Tadrès, south of the Air Mountains, originally dedicated to the protection of the oryx. Transhumanity route for cattle and camels, wild dorks and gazelles.
- Total reserve of Tamou fauna, 756 km2 since 1976, northwest limit of Niger's W National Park, reduced from 1,426 km2 initials due to drought and population pressure. Run tampon from the national park.
- Dosso's partial wildlife reserve, 3,065 km2, adjacent to Niger's W National Park and located on the left bank of the Niger River. Bufalos, antelopes and gazelles subjected to intense illegal hunting. Also Nigerian giraffe.
- Gadabedji wildlife reserve, 760 km2, center of Niger, south of the Air Mountains, in the Maradi region. Arbustive steppe (Boscia senegalensis, Caparis corymbosa, Commiphora African, Raddiana, Balanites aegyptiaca, Ziziphus mucronata, Acacia eemhbergiana, etc.) and sahelian prairie (Panicum turgidum, Aristida mutabilis, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Zornia glochidiata, Aristida sp, Choenepheldia gracilis, Cenchus biflorus, etc.). with antelopes, especially gazelles lady.
- Natural reserves of Air and Teneré, 77,360 km2, World Heritage since 1991.
- Natural and cultural reserve of Termit-Tintoumma, 97,000 km2, created in 2012. It is the largest reserve in Africa in south-east Niger. Highlights the presence of adax or white antilope.
- Sanctuary of the Addax, 12,800 km2, integral reserve that forms part of the Natural Reserves of the Air and the Teneré. Created to protect the white antilope addax.
Human Geography
Niger has an estimated population of 23.18 million in 2019. It is the largest country in West Africa, but 80% of its territory is desert. The global population density is very low, 12 inhabitants/km², but with great differences, since most of the population occupies only 35% of the country. In the southern region of Maradi, which occupies 3.3% of the country, 20% of the population lives (90 inhab/km²), while only 3% of the population lives in 53% of the country.
The population is growing at a rate of 4% per year (7 children per woman in 2016) and could quadruple by 2050, reaching 56 million inhabitants. 70% of the population is under 25 years of age. Due to very young marriages and raising children, education is lower for women than for men. Emigration prefers other West African countries, such as Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast. Through Agadez, Niger is a passage for emigrants from the Sahel to Libya and Europe. The war in Mali, since 2012, has driven some 60,000 refugees into this country, and conflicts with Boko Haram in Nigeria have displaced thousands of people from the Diffa region in the southeast.
Ethnic groups of Niger
Over 50% of the population is ethnic Hausa (53%), which is also dominant in northern Nigeria, as well as the Zarma-Songhai (21%), sedentary farmers living in the south of the country. Fulani 6.5%), Kanuri (5.9%), Gurma (0.8%) Arabs, Tubu (0.4%) and Tuareg make up 20% of the population, of a nomadic or semi-nomadic character. Around 90% of the population is Muslim, with small animist and Christian groups. Many Muslims are Sufis and Sunnis, and 5% are Shiites.