Sankan Biriwa

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Sankan Biriwa is a mountain massif in the east of Sierra Leone with two peaks, both over 1,800 metres, the northernmost is the second highest in Sierra Leone at 1,850 m. The mountain is part of the Tingi Hills Forest Reserve. [1] [2]

Mountain A large landform that rises fairly steeply above the surrounding land over a limited area

A mountain is a large landform that rises above the surrounding land in a limited area, usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. Mountains are formed through tectonic forces or volcanism. These forces can locally raise the surface of the earth. Mountains erode slowly through the action of rivers, weather conditions, and glaciers. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in huge mountain ranges.

In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a group of mountains formed by such a structure.

Sierra Leone republic in West Africa

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, informally Salone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savanna to rainforests. The country has a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and a population of 7,075,641 as of the 2015 census. Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature. Sierra Leone has a dominant unitary central government. The president is the head of state and the head of government. The country's capital and largest city is Freetown. Sierra Leone is made up of five administrative regions: the Northern Province, North West Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area. These regions are subdivided into sixteen districts.

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Rokel River river in Sierra Leone

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White-necked rockfowl species of bird found in West Africa

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Tiwai Island protected area

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Amietophrynus cristiglans is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is known commonly as the Tingi Hills toad and is endemic to the Tingi Hills of Sierra Leone. This species' taxonomic status remains uncertain and was considered to be a synonym of A. latifrons by Tandy and Keith (1972). It may not be a valid species.

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Western Area Forest Reserve, also known as the Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserve, is a non-hunting forest reserve in Sierra Leone. The area became a forest reserve in 1916 and has an area of 17,688 hectares (68.29 sq mi). It was demarcated by Charles Lane Poole, Sierra Leone's first ever 'Conservator of Forests,' and founder of the Sierra Leonean Forestry Department. It is the westernmost semi-deciduous closed canopy forest in Sierra Leone. The forest is home to various endangered species, including a wide variety of endangered birds and Duiker.

Kangari Hills Forest Reserve

Kangari Hills Forest Reserve is a non-hunting forest reserve in the centre of Sierra Leone. The area became a forest reserve in 1924. Lying between 200 and 500 metres above sea level, the reserve has an area of 8,573 hectares (85.73 km²), although parts of it area have been encroached upon by farming and mining. The Reserve is one of the few places in Sierra Leone where the endangered forest elephant survives.

Farangbaia Forest Reserve is a forest reserve with a rainforest ecosystem in Sierra Leone. The Reserve covers an area of 1,260 hectares, is located approximately 10 km to the south-east of the town of Bumbuna and forms part of the catchment area for the Seli River. Since the outbreak of Sierra Leone civil war in 1991 much of the reserve has become farmland and bush forest and there a number sawmills operating there.

The Kambui Hills Forest Reserve occupies an area of 14,335 hectares in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. It is located 10 kilometres from the town of Kenema with terrain consisting of steep slopes that reach an altitude of between 100 and 645 metres. The area mainly contains forest habitat but there is also some savanna and wetland. Over 200 separate species of birds have been recorded in the reserve including vulnerable species the white-necked picathartes and green-tailed bristlebill and near threatened species the yellow-casqued hornbill, rufous-winged illadopsis and copper-tailed glossy-starling.

Tingi Hills Forest Reserve

The Tingi Hills Forest Reserve is located in a mountain range in the east of Sierra Leone and occupies an area of 118.85 km2 (45.89 sq mi). It became a forest reserve in 1947 and a non-hunting forest reserve in 1973. The area reaches from an altitude of 400 to 1850 metres at the north peak of the dual peaked Sankan Biriwa massif. In the lower regions the area consists of forest interspersed with savannah then moves into shrub savannah and then mountain grassland at higher altitudes. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded in the area and the reserve is also home to western baboons and forest elephants.

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Kasewe Forest Reserve is an area of hills in the Moyamba District of Sierra Leone. It is designated as a forest reserve and contains moist semi-deciduous and evergreen forests that cover an area of 1.224 km². Made up of volcanic rock the hills stand about 500m above the interior plains of the country. The nearest town is Lunsar.

The Sankan Biriwa No or Non - Hunting Forest Reserve is found in Sierra Leone. It was established in 1947. This site is 118km².

Lake Sonfon

Lake Sonfon, also known as Lake Confon, is a fresh water mountain lake in Diang, Sierra Leone of religious and cultural significance. The nearest towns are Kabala that is 60 km to the north and Benugu that is 40 km to the south. It is located in the hills of the Sula Mountains at an altitude of 549 m (1,801 ft) above sea level. Sonfon drains from its southern end, which forms the start of the Pampana River, and is fed by seven small streams with its water level varying considerably during the year. The Lake has a maximum depth of 8 m (26 ft) and with an area of 8.2 km2 (3.2 sq mi) is Sierra Leone's largest inland lake.

Guinean montane forests

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References

  1. BirdLife IBA Factsheet: Tingi Hills Non-hunting Forest Reserve, BirdLife International (2007, retrieved on 22 November 2007
  2. World Database on Protected Areas: site Information, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, retrieved on 22 November 2007

See also

Protected areas of Sierra Leone