The Western High Plateau, Western Highlands or Bamenda Grassfields is a region of Cameroon characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall and savanna vegetation. The region lies along the Cameroon line and consists of mountain ranges and volcanoes made of crystalline and igneous rock. The region borders the South Cameroon Plateau to the southeast, the Adamawa Plateau to the northeast and the Cameroon coastal plain to the south.
The Western High Plateau lies along the Cameroon line, a series of volcanic swells running from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwestern part of the plateau to the Adamawa Plateau in the northeast. The region is characterised by accidented relief of massifs and mountains. The Western High Plateau features several dormant volcanoes, including the Bamboutos Mountains, Mount Oku and Mount Kupe. [1] The plateau rises in steps from the west. To the east, it terminates in mountains that range from 1,000 metres to 2,500 metres in height, terminating in the South Cameroon Plateau. [1] The plateau gives way to the Adamawa Plateau to the northeast, which is a larger but less accidented region. [2]
The core of the plateau is made up of volcanic rock, which is ringed by plutonic rock. [3] The base is crystalline and metamorphic rock. [4] The base rock is primarily gneiss and granite that dates to the Precambrian period. A layer of basalt covers this. [2] Vulcanism has created fertile black and brown soils. [5] Erosion played a large role.
The plateau experiences an equatorial climate of the Cameroon type. The area experiences two major seasons: A long, wet season of nine months, and a short, dry season of three months. During the wet season, humid, prevailing monsoon winds blow in from the west and lose their moisture upon hitting the region's mountains. Average rainfall per year ranges from 1,000 mm to 2,000 mm. [6] High elevations give the region a cooler climate than the rest of Cameroon. For example, the average temperature at Dschang in the West Region is 20°C. [7] Toward the north, rainfall levels are reduced as the Sudan climate becomes predominant. [8]
The Western High Plateau's relief and high rainfall make it a major watershed for Cameroon. [9] Important rivers in the region include the Manyu, which rises in the Bamboutos Mountains and becomes the Cross River on its lower course, and the Nkam, which is known as the Wouri River on its lower course. [7] The region gives rise to important tributaries to the Sanaga River. [10] These rivers follow a Cameroon regime, a subtype of the equatorial regime of other southern Cameroonian rivers. This means that the rivers experience a long, high-water period during the wet season and a short, low-water period during the dry season. [11] The region's rivers ultimately empty into the Atlantic Ocean. [9] The area's accidented geography gives rise to several waterfalls along these waterways. Ekon Falls near Nkongsamba in the West Region is 80 metres high. [12] Crater lakes dot the plateau, the result of dead volcanoes filling with water. [2]
The Western High Plateau was once heavily forested. However, repeated cutting and burning by human beings has forced the forest back to areas along the waterways and has allowed grasslands to expand into the area. [13] Sudan savanna forms the dominant vegetation. This consists of grassfields—leading to the name Bamenda grassfields around the city of Bamenda—and short shrubs and trees that shed their foliage during the dry season as a defence against brush fires and dry weather. Raffia palms grow in the valleys and depressions. [14]
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa, it has been categorized as being in both camps. Its nearly 27 million people speak 250 native languages.
At 475,440 km2 (183,570 sq mi), Cameroon is the world's 53rd largest country. It is slightly larger than the nation of Sweden and the US state of California. It is comparable in size to Papua New Guinea. Cameroon's landmass is 472,710 km2 (182,510 sq mi), with 2,730 km2 (1,050 sq mi) of water.
The East Region occupies the southeastern portion of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the east by the Central African Republic, to the south by Congo, to the north by the Adamawa Region, and to the west by the Centre and South Regions. With 109,002 km2 of territory, it is the largest region in the nation as well as the most sparsely populated. Historically, the peoples of the East have been settled in Cameroonian territory for longer than any other of the country's many ethnic groups, the first inhabitants being the Baka pygmies.
The Centre Region occupies 69,000 km2 of the central plains of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the north by the Adamawa Region, to the south by the South Region, to the east by the East Region, and to the West by the Littoral and West Regions. It is the second largest of Cameroon's regions in land area. Major ethnic groups include the Bassa, Ewondo, and Vute.
The Adamawa Region is a constituent region of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the Centre and East regions to the south, the Northwest and West regions to the southwest, Nigeria to the west, the Central African Republic (CAR) to the east, and the North Region to the north.
The West Region is 14,000 km2 of territory located in the central-western portion of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the Northwest Region to the northwest, the Adamawa Region to the northeast, the Centre Region to the southeast, the Littoral Region to the southwest, and the Southwest Region to the west. The West Region is the smallest of Cameroon's ten regions in area, yet it has the highest population density.
The North Region makes up 66,090 km² of the northern half of The Republic of Cameroon. Neighbouring territories include the Far North Region to the north, the Adamawa Region to the south, Nigeria to the west, Chad to the east, and Central African Republic to the southeast. The city of Garoua is both the political and industrial capital. Garoua is Cameroon's third largest port, despite the fact that the Bénoué River upon which it relies is only navigable for short periods of the year.
The Far North Region, also known as the Extreme North Region, is the northernmost constituent province of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the North Region to the south, Chad to the east, and Nigeria to the west. The capital is Maroua.
The Regions of Cameroon are divided into 58 divisions or departments. The divisions are further sub-divided into sub-divisions (arrondissements) and districts. The divisions are listed below, by province.
The Cameroon line is a 1,600 km (990 mi) chain of volcanoes. It includes islands in the Gulf of Guinea and mountains that extend along the border region of eastern Nigeria and the West Region of Cameroon, from Mount Cameroon on the Gulf of Guinea north and east towards Lake Chad. The islands, which span the equator, have tropical climates and are home to many unique plant and bird species. The mainland mountain regions are much cooler than the surrounding lowlands, and also contain unique and ecologically important environments.
The Kadéï River is a tributary of the Sangha River that flows through Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Its total drainage basin is 24,000 km2. The river rises from the eastern Adamawa Plateau, southeast of Garoua-Boulaï in Cameroon's East Province. The Kadéï is swelled by two tributaries, the Doumé at Mindourou and the Boumbé, before flowing east into the Central African Republic. At Nola, the Kadéï meets the Mambéré and becomes the Sangha. The Kadéï is part of the Congo River basin.
Tourism in Cameroon is a growing but relatively minor industry. Since the 1970s, the government of Cameroon has cultivated the industry by creating a ministry of tourism and by encouraging investment by airlines, hotels, and travel agencies. The government describes the country as "Africa in miniature", promoting its diversity of climate, culture, and geography. Cameroon's wildlife draws both safari-goers and big-game hunters, as Cameroon is home to many of Africa's iconic animals: cheetahs, chimpanzees, elephants, giraffes, gorillas, hippopotami, and rhinoceroses. Impediments to further growth of the tourism sector include poor transport infrastructure and corrupt officials who may harass visitors for bribes.
The Musgum or Mulwi are a Chadic ethnic group in Cameroon and Chad. They speak Musgu, a Chadic language, which had 61,500 speakers in Cameroon in 1982 and 24,408 speakers in Chad in 1993. The Musgum call themselves Mulwi.
Semi-Bantu or Semibantu is an outdated term used for specific inhabitants of the Western grassfields of Cameroon, who speak languages that have certain characteristics to the Bantu language family, but they're excluded from them. The people themselves also aren't considered ethnically Bantu.
The South Cameroon Plateau or Southern Cameroon Plateau is the dominant geographical feature of Cameroon. The plateau lies south of the Adamawa Plateau and southeast of the Cameroon Range. It slopes south and west until giving way to the Cameroon coastal plain in the southwest and the Congo River basin in the southeast. The plateau is characterised by hills and valleys in the southwest and a more gentle peneplain in the southwest. Isolated massifs occur, especially in the southwest. Metamorphic rocks make up the plain's basement. The soils are ferrallitic and lateritic, with colouration ranging from red or brown in the interior to yellow on the coast. The soils are subjected to silica leeching, so they are not productive without fertiliser.
The Cameroonian Highlands forests, also known as the Cameroon Highlands forests, are a montane tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion located on the range of mountains that runs inland from the Gulf of Guinea and forms the border between Cameroon and Nigeria. This is an area of forest and grassland which has become more populous as land is cleared for agriculture.
Ndu is a town and commune in Donga-Mantung, a division in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. It lies at the northeast edge of the Bamenda Grassfields, on the eastern arc of the Ring Road. It is the highest elevation town in Cameroon.
The Bambouto massif or Bamboutos Mountains is a group of volcanoes based on a swell in the Cameroon Volcanic Line, located in the Western High Plateau of Cameroon, merging in the north with the Oku Volcanic Field.
The Ngaoundéré Plateau is a highland area in the Adamawa Region of Cameroon. It contains Tchabal Nganha, a large volcano, and many other recent volcanic structures.
Tchabal Nganha is a stratovolcano on the Ngaoundere Plateau, a highland area in the Adamawa Region of Cameroon.