West Africa

West Africa is the region of western Africa that is generally considered to include the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. In addition, the region is sometimes considered to include Cape Verde, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Western Sahara.

Geography and climate

The fourteen countries that constitute the strictest definition of West Africa occupy an area of about 5,091,980 km². The vast majority of this land is plains lying less than 300 meters above sea level, though isolated high points exist in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and particularly in Cameroon. Mount Cameroon is the region's highest point at 4,095 meters.

Related Topics:
Km² - Mount Cameroon

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The northern section of West Africa is composed of semi-arid terrain known as Sahel, a transitional zone between the Sahara desert and the savannahs of the western Sudan to the south. Equatorial forests form a third belt between the savannahs and the southern coast, ranging from 160 km to 240 km in width.

Related Topics:
Sahel - Savannah - Western Sudan - Forest

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