Nigeria Geography

What is the terrain and geography like in Nigeria?

Overview

Nigeria's 356,669 square miles stretch across several climatic regions: a narrow coastal belt of mangrove swamps; a somewhat wider section of rolling hills and tropical rain forests; a still larger dry central plateau, with open woodlands and savanna; and a strip of semi-desert on the fringes of the Sahel. Lagos is located in the coastal belt and Abuja is in the central plateau.

The country's major geographical features are the Niger and Benue Rivers. The two rivers form the upper arms of a flattened letter Y, coming together in the south-central part of the country, and proceed due south as the Niger River, fanning out into a large and intricate delta as the waters reach the Gulf of Guinea. Most of Nigeria's oil deposits are found in the Niger delta or in the coastal waters. The country's highest peaks are in the eastern highlands bordering Cameroon, with elevations up to 7,936 feet. The most extensive upland area is the Jos Plateau in east-central Nigeria, a region 2000 to 4000 feet above sea level with elevations up to 5841 feet.

Geography - note

the Niger enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea

Nigeria Use of Natural Resources

Geographic Location	Africa
Total Area	356,667 Square Miles 923,768 Square Kilometers
Land Area	351,648 Square Miles 910,768 Square Kilometers
Water Area	5,019 Square Miles 13,000 Square Kilometers
Land Boundaries	2,515 Miles 4,047 Kilometers
Irrigated Land	1,132 Square Miles 2,932 Square Kilometers
Border Countries	Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km
Coastline	530 Miles 853 Kilometers
Geographic Coordinates	10 00 N, 8 00 E
Terrain	southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north
Highest Point	2,419 Meters
Highest Point Location	Chappal Waddi 2,419 m
Lowest Point Location	Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Natural Resources	natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land
Time Zone	UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

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