REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY
POPULATION GROWTH IN AFRICA
The exact population size of Africa, like that of the world, at any particular time is difficult to determine. This is essentially due to the fact that many countries in Africa do not have complete knowledge of their population, as…
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION IN AFRICA
The population density of Africa is 30 persons per square kilometre. This might be misleading when dealing with a large land mass as Africa, and there is need to remember that the population is unevenly distributed. There are marked…
SOUTHERN COASTLANDS OF NIGERIA
Physical Setting The coastal lowlands bordering of Nigeria range in height from sea level to 150m above sea level and extend across the entire length of the country coast from Yewa-Badagry area in the west to the Bakassi peninsula at…
SOUTH WESTERN HIGHLANDS OF NIGERIA
Physical Setting The western highlands region covers Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and parts of Kwara and Kogi States. The highlands generally range between 300m and 700m above sea level. There are isolated local peaks, such as, Idanre and Efon-Alaye…
CROSS RIVER PLAINS
Physical Setting The Cross River plains lie between the Udi hills to the west and highlands of the eastern borders of Nigeria. The Cross River and its tributaries dominate the drainage system of this region. This massive lowland covers an…
NIGER BENUE TROUGH
Physical Features The Niger-Benue trough is a massive depression in the middle of the country, which is generally 300m below sea level. The trough derives its name from the two major rivers in the area, that is, Rivers Niger and…
THE CHAD BASIN
Physical Features The Chad Basin in the north eastern extreme corner of Nigeria is basically a flat plain at an elevation of about 300m above sea level. Sand dunes are common in several places on the basin. Lake Chad is…
THE SOKOTO PLAIN
Physical Features The Sokoto plain in northwest Nigeria is essentially a dissected lowland, about 300metres above sea level. It is drained by two major rivers and their tributaries; these are the Sokoto and Rima rivers. These rivers have extensive flat…
EASTERN SCARPLANDS OF NIGERIA
This region is found east of the Niger delta and south of River Benue. It is bordered on the east by the Cross River Plains as shown in Fig. 43.2. Physical Features Major relief features of this region are…
EASTERN HIGHLANDS OF NIGERIA
Physical Setting The eastern highlands consist of chains of hills, plateaus and mountains along the eastern borderlands of Nigeria. Prominent among these relief features are Bamenda highlands, Biu plateau, Mambila plateau, Shebshi and Alantika mountains, Adamawa plateau and Obudu hills.…
GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS OF NIGERIA
Nigeria can be classified into nine broad geographical regions, each having obvious and essentially similar physical settings, people and population, resources and economic activities, transportation and development issues and problems. These regions are shown in Fig. 43.1 and include: 1)…
NORTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF NIGERIA
Physical Features This is a very extensive region that extends from Katsina in the north to Yelwa in the West, Bauchi in the east and Kafanchan in the south. The landscape is made up of gentle, undulating plains. The relief…
PHYSICAL SETTING OF NIGERIA
The main physical features are the geology, relief and drainage systems. They are examined generally and on regional basis. Geology The geology of Nigeria shows that the rocks found in the country range from the PreCambrian and Quaternary geological…
DISTRIBUTION OF NIGERIA’S MINERAL AND POWER RESOURCES
Nigeria is blessed with abundant mineral resources; and they are found all over the country. The major minerals found in sedimentary rocks include, coal, petroleum, natural gas, and limestone; and those found in basement complex rocks include tin, columbite, gypsum…
PHYSICAL SETTING OF AFRICA
The physical setting of Africa is defined by its relief, drainage, climate and vegetation, among others. These factors define Africa’s physical environment and they are important influences on patterns of human activity on the continent. The physical environment affects such…
INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISE IN NIGERIA
Industrial enterprise in Nigeria can be broadly classified into (i) local arts and craft, and (ii) modern manufacturing. Local Arts and Craft Long before the coming of Europeans and modern manufacturing to Nigeria, the fabrication of local items, such…
NIGERIA’S TRADE AND COMMERCE
Trade is the selling and buying of goods and services between areas and peoples. Trade can be local, interregional or international. Nigeria is involved in all these types of trade. The term commerce” is used to cover all forms of…
LOCATION AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF AFRICA
Regional Geography Regional geography is usually defined as the study of the ways in which the combinations of environmental and human factors produce territories or regions with distinctive landscapes and cultural attributes. What this means is that the general appearance…
POWER SOURCES IN AFRICA
Energy/ Power Sources Africa has various sources of energy or power distributed unevenly over Africa. The main sources of power are Hydro-Electricity Power (HEP), coal, mineral oil, thermal power and nuclear power. Africa accounts for 8% of the world’s known…
PRIMARY ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA
Africa’s primary economic activities depend essentially on primary activities, which are associated with the natural resources that abound in the continent. The main primary economic activities are mining, forest exploitation/lumbering, fishing and livestock rearing. Mining Activities Africa is blessed…
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION IN AFRICA
There are a number of international organizations in Africa formed with the aim of promoting peace, social integration, economic cooperation and development of member nation states. These include the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Economic…
CLIMATE OF AFRICA
Factors Affecting the Climate of Africa Latitude: Latitude refers to the location of a place on the earth’s surface in relation to the equator. Tropical latitudes where the sun’s altitude is always high have hotter temperature than lower latitudes where…
VEGETATION OF AFRICA
Factors Affecting Vegetation The factors affecting the vegetation of Africa include: Climatic factors. Geomorphic factors. Edaphic factors. Biotic factors. Climatic Factors High temperature with low rainfall leads to sparse vegetation. The higher the rainfall, the denser the vegetation. High…
DRAINAGE OF NIGERIA
Drainage refers to water bodies like rivers and lakes. Drainage of Nigeria is discussed in two parts – rivers and lakes. RIVERS IN NIGERIA: Nigeria is drained by two main rivers – Rivers Niger and Benue. River Niger, the largest…
RELIEF OF NIGERIA
Relief refers to the surface features of the land above the sea level. Relief of Nigeria can be grouped into two main classes which are lowlands and highlands. Lowlands: Lowlands refer to the areas below 300m above the sea level.…
LOCATION, POSITION AND SIZE OF NIGERIA
LOCATION: Nigeria lies within latitude 4˚N – 14˚N of the equator and longitude 3˚E – 15˚E of the Greenwich Meridian. It therefore follows that Nigeria has a latitudinal stretch of 10˚ and longitudinal extent of 12˚. POSITION: Nigeria is in…
CLIMATE OF NIGERIA
Climate is the average weather condition of the atmosphere over a very long period of time. The elements of climate – rainfall, temperature, wind, relative humidity, pressure, cloud cover and sunshine. Temperature: Temperature is defined as the degree of hotness…
MINERAL RESOURCES IN NIGERIA
Minerals present and mined in Nigeria include: Petroleum and Crude oil Petroleum is a sedimentary rock mineral found in Port Harcourt (Rivers State), Warri and Ughelli (both in Delta State), Akwa-Ibom and Imo-State. The first oil well in Nigeria was…
MINING IN AFRICA (COPPER, GOLD AND PETROLEUM)
MINING OF GOLD Africa leads the whole world in the production of gold. South Africa is the largest producer of gold in Africa, followed by Ghana, Zimbabwe and Zaire. Gold is a valuable metallic mineral. MAJOR MINING AREAS Witwatersrand…
PLANTATION AGRICULTURE IN WEST AND EAST AFRICA
Plantation agriculture is defined as the cultivation of certain crops on large area of land or plantation. CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTATION It involves the cultivation of only one type of crop on a piece of land (i.e. monoculture). It requires…
PASTORAL FARMING IN WEST AND EAST AFRICA
Pastoral farming is defined as the system of farming in which livestock animals like cattle, sheep and goats are reared either for food or for sale. TYPES OF PASTORAL FARMING There are two types of pastoral farming. These are:…
FRUIT FARMING IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGIONS OF AFRICA
Fruit farming is defined as the type of farming in which farmers cultivate mainly fruit crops either for domestic, industrial or commercial purposes. It is regarded as Orchard farming. MAJOR AREAS OF FRUIT FARMING In North-West Africa: The areas…
IRRIGATION AGRICULTURE IN THE NILE BASIN AND THE NIGER BASIN
Irrigation agriculture is the type of agriculture which involves the artificial application of water to soil or land for farming purposes. Irrigation is mainly practiced in areas where there is insufficient rainfall like in Egypt and Sudan (Nile Basin) which…
VEGETATION OF NIGERIA
The vegetation in Nigeria can be grouped into three major zones. These are: The forest Zone or Vegetation: This forest zone or vegetation contains mainly trees and has the following forest belts. Mangrove swamp forest (salt and fresh water swamp).…
MAJOR HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PROJECTS IN AFRICA
Hydro-Electric Power (H.E.P) is the generation of electric power (electricity) from water. This is achieved through the damming of rivers and the use of river water to turn or drive turbines leading to the generation of electricity. A dam is…
RELIEF AND DRAINAGE OF WEST AFRICA
The relief of West Africa can be grouped into three classes as follows: 1. The lowlands: These areas are below 300m above the sea-level and are made up of sedimentary rocks. The lowlands are further sub-divided into two: The interior…
LOCATION, POSITION, SIZE AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF AFRICA
LOCATION Africa is located between latitude 37 degrees north and 35 degrees south of the equator and longitudes 17 degrees west and 51 degrees east of the Greenwich Meridian. POSITION Africa, the second largest continent in the world after…
SIZE, LOCATION, POSITION AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF WEST AFRICA
SIZE West Africa occupies about one fifth of the area of Africa and has a total land area of approximately 6,143,000 square kilometres. The main offshore islands include Sao Tome, Principe, Fernando Po, Annobon and Cape Verde which occupy another…
