Nigeria Geography

NIGERIA GEOGRAPHY

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Nigeria is often called the "Giant of Africa." This name comes from the vastness of its land, the diversity of its peoples and languages, its huge population (the largest in Africa), and its oil and other natural resources.

Nigeria is a patchwork of distinctive regions, including deserts, plains, swamps, mountains, and steamy jungles. It has one of the largest river systems in the world, including the Niger Delta, the third largest delta on Earth.

Much of Nigeria is covered with plains and savannas. These tropical grasslands spread out as far as the eye can see and are interrupted here and there by trees and shrubs. The southwestern plains are home to the Yoruba people, who have lived there for thousands of years.

HISTORY

Although the country of Nigeria is fairly new, the area's history stretches back for thousands of years. The town of Nok in central Nigeria was once the home of a culture that existed more than 2,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found many of their clay carvings.

Hundreds of thousands of years before the Nok culture, ancient people in Nigeria began making stone tools and eventually learned to farm and keep animals.

In the 1600s, many Africans became victims of the European slave trade. Millions of people lost their freedom. In the 1800s, the British defeated many of Nigeria's tribal kingdoms and created the colony of Nigeria. They ruled the country until 1960.

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

Since Nigeria won independence from Britain in 1960, it has suffered through corrupt leaders and occasional military rule. In 1999 the country adopted a new constitution and the first democratic elections in 20 years were held.

Nigeria is the most important country politically and economically in West Africa. It is richer than all other West African nations and holds considerable power.

Nigeria's most important export is oil, more than half of which is shipped to the United States. Rubber and cacao (for chocolate and cocoa) are also important export products.
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Climate in Nigeria

The tropical monsoon climate, designated by the Köppen climate classification as "Am", is found in the southern part of the country. This climate is influenced by the monsoons originating from the South Atlantic ocean, which is brought into the country by the (maritime tropical) MT airmass, a warm moist sea to land seasonal wind. Its warmth and high humidity gives it a strong tendency to ascend and produce copious rainfall, which is a result of the condensation of water vapour in the rapidly rising air.

The Tropical monsoon climate has a very small temperature range. Then temperature ranges are almost constant throughout the year, for example, Warri town in the southern part of Nigeria, records a maximum of 28 °C (82.4 °F) for its hottest month while its lowest temperature is 26 °C (78.8 °F) in its coldest month. The temperature difference of Warri town is not more than 2 °C (5 °F).

The southern part of Nigeria experiences heavy and abundant rainfall. These storms are usually convectional in nature due to the regions proximity, to the equatorial belt. The annual rainfall received in this region is very high, usually above the 2,000 mm (78.7 in) rainfall totals giving for tropical rainforest climates worldwide. Over 4,000 mm (157.5 in) of rainfall is received in the coastal region of Nigeria around the Niger delta area. Bonny town found in the coastal region of the Niger delta area in southern Nigeria receives well over 4,000 mm (157.5 in) of rainfall annually. The rest of the southeast receives between 2,000 and 3,000 mm (118.1 in) of rain per year.
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