Wildlife of Cameroon - Geography

Geography

The topography of the country extends from the coastline to hill regions with elevations of up to 2,000 meters (6,600 ft). The habitat consists of three regions. These are: The dense rainforests in the southern region in the hot and humid climatic conditions; the central region of semi-deciduous forests; and the northern region consisting of semi-deciduous forests of wooded savanna with scattered trees. The climatic conditions are of low to highland with equatorial to tropical climate. Initial coverage of protected areas was in savanna region but it now covers all the ten provinces of the country with all the diversity of its topographic, climatic, hydrological biological features.

The highest mountain the country is the Mount Cameroon with an elevation of 4,070 meters (13,350 ft). It is located in southwestern Cameroon in the coastal zone close to the Nigerian border.

The total forest area coverage is reported to be 238,623 hectares (589,650 acres) of which 171,090 hectares (422,800 acres) of closed forest and 65,000 hectares (160,000 acres) is fragmented forest or degraded forests accounting for 27 percent of the total forest area. The forests are also categorized as part of the "Congolian Coastal Forests, Western Congo Basin Forests, Sudanian Savannas, Sahelian Flooded Savannas, Gulf of Guinea Rivers and Crater Lakes, Guinean-Congolian Coast Mangroves, and Gulf of Guinea Marine Ecosystems." One of the important regions is the Cameroonian Highlands forests which extends across the Cameroon Highlands, covering an area of 38,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi) in western Cameroon and eastern Nigeria. The ecoregion lies above 900 metres (3,000 ft) elevation, and is surrounded at lower elevations by the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests at the southern end of the range, and by forest-savanna mosaic along the central and northern ends of the range; the Cameroon Highlands form the boundary between the Guinean and Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic ecoregions, consisting of sub-montane to montane forests and finally sub alpine grasslands. The region is categorized as Critical/Endangered, but the area under full protection is not great. The area is subject to intense population pressure and conversion of forest lands into agricultural areas.

As part of the Congo Basin, the Sangha River, drained by the tributaries rising in the northern humid region, and flowing into the southern region of the country, is the main water catchment. At the swampy estuary it forms several branches, and is also joined by the Likouala aux Herbes, Likouala, and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers. Another major river, which joins the Sangha River, is the Dja River, which rises in west-central Africa and flows forming the border between Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo, and through the Dja Faunal Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The major river drainage is the Chari subbasin of the Congo Basin, which covers Cameroon and the Central African Republic. It drains into the Atlantic Ocean.