The Geography of Cameroon

Learn about the geography of the Republic of Cameroon with these interesting facts from the World Factbook:


Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

Geographic coordinates:
6 00 N, 12 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 475,440 sq km
country comparison to the world: 53
land: 472,710 sq km
water: 2,730 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km

Coastline:
402 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate:
varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north

Terrain:
diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako 4,095 m (on Mt. Cameroon)

Natural resources:
petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 12.54%
permanent crops: 2.52%
other: 84.94% (2005)

Irrigated land:
260 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:
285.5 cu km (2003)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.99 cu km/yr (18%/8%/74%)
per capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:
volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes
volcanism: Mt. Cameroon (elev. 4,095 m, 13,435 ft), which last erupted in 2000, is the most frequently active volcano in West Africa; lakes in Oku volcanic field have released fatal levels of gas on occasion, killing some 1,700 people in 1986

Environment - current issues:
waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano