Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in north-central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to the west.
Chad is one of nearly 200 countries illustrated on the Blue Ocean Laminated Map of the World. This map shows a combination of political and physical features, including country boundaries, major cities, major mountains in shaded relief, and ocean depth in blue color gradient.
If you are interested in Chad and the geography of Africa, a large laminated map of Africa might be just what you need. It is a large political map of Africa that also shows many of the continent's physical features in color or shaded relief.
Chad has a population of 19 million, of which 1.6 million live in the capital and largest city of N'Djamena.
Explore Chad using Google Earth. Google Earth is a free program from Google that allows you to explore satellite images showing the cities and landscapes of Chad and all of Africa in fantastic detail. It works on your desktop computer, tablet, or mobile phone. The images in many areas are detailed enough that you can see houses, vehicles and even people on a city street. Google Earth is free and easy-to-use.
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Chad is a large landlocked country spanning north-central Africa. It covers an area of 1,284,000 square kilometers (496,000 sq mi), lying between latitudes 7° and 24°N, and 13° and 24°E, and is the twentieth-largest country in the world.
Chad's location in Africa
Geographical Features
The terrain is that of a shallow basin that rises gradually from the Lake Chad area in the west and is rimmed by mountains to the north, east, and south. The country's topography is generally flat, with the elevation gradually rising as one moves north and east away from Lake Chad.
Chad has several regions: the Sahara desert in the north, an arid zone in the centre known as the Sahel, and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south.
The dominant physical structure is a wide basin bounded to the north and east by the Ennedi Plateau and Tibesti Mountains, which include Emi Koussi, a dormant volcano that reaches 3,414 metres (11,201 ft) above sea level. The highest point in Chad is Emi Koussi, a mountain that rises 3,100 m (10,171 ft) in the northern Tibesti Mountains. The Ennedi Plateau and the Ouaddaï highlands in the east complete the image of a gradually sloping basin, which descends towards Lake Chad.
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The mountains that rim the basin include the volcanic Tibesti Massif to the north (of which the highest point is Mount Koussi, with an elevation of 11,204 feet [3,415 meters]), the sandstone peaks of the Ennedi Plateau to the northeast, the crystalline rock mountains of the Ouaddaï (Wadai) region to the east, and the Oubangui Plateau to the south. The semicircle is completed to the southwest by the mountains of Adamawa and Mandara, which lie mostly beyond the frontier in Cameroon and Nigeria.
Natural irrigation is limited to the Chari and Logone rivers and their tributaries, which flow from the southeast into Lake Chad.
Chad’s river network is virtually limited to the Chari and Logone rivers and their tributaries, which flow from the southeast to feed Lake Chad. The remaining Chad waterways are either seasonal or are of insignificant size. The Chari, which arises from headstreams in the Central African Republic to the south, is later joined from the east by the Salamat Wadi and from the west by the Ouham River, its largest tributary. After entering an ill-defined area of swampland between Niellim and Dourbali, it flows through a large delta into Lake Chad. The Chari is about 750 miles (1,200 km) in length and has a flow that normally varies between 600 and 12,000 cubic feet (17,000 to 340,000 liters) per second, according to the season. The Logone, which for some of its course runs along the Cameroon frontier, is formed by the junction of the Pendé and Mbéré rivers; its flow varies between 170 and 3,000 cubic feet (4,800 and 85,000 liters) per second, and its course is more than 600 miles (965 km) long before it joins the Chari at N’Djamena.
Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the second-largest wetland in Africa and is one of the most important wetlands on the continent. The level of Lake Chad fluctuates according to the flow of these rivers, as well as according to the degree of precipitation, evaporation, and seepage. The droughts of the 1970s and early ’80s in the Sahel region of western Africa reduced the lake to record low levels. By 1985 it had been reduced to a pool, immediately to the north of the Chari-Logone mouth, occupying about 1,000 square miles (2,600 square km). The size of the lake continued to decline, and in the early 21st century, the area was typically about 580 square miles (1,500 square km). Bordered by Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon, Lake Chad currently covers only 1,350 square kilometers, down from 25,000 square kilometers in 1963. The Chari and Logone Rivers, both of which originate in the Central African Republic and flow northward, provide most of the surface water entering Lake Chad.
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Lake Chad in a 2001 satellite image.
Climate
Chad has four climatic zones. The northernmost Saharan zone averages less than 200 mm (7.9 in) of rainfall annually. The sparse human population is largely nomadic, with some livestock, mostly small ruminants and camels. The central Sahelian zone receives between 200 and 700 mm (7.9 and 27.6 in) rainfall and has vegetation ranging from grass/shrub steppe to thorny, open savanna. The southern zone, often referred to as the Sudan zone, receives between 700 and 1,000 mm (27.6 and 39.4 in), with woodland savanna and deciduous forests for vegetation. Rainfall in the Guinea zone, located in Chad's southwestern tip, ranges between 1,000 and 1,200 mm (39.4 and 47.2 in).
Each year a tropical weather system known as the intertropical front crosses Chad from south to north, bringing a wet season that lasts from May to October in the south, and from June to September in the Sahel.
Variations in local rainfall create three major geographical zones. The Sahara lies in the country's northern third. The Sahara gives way to a Sahelian belt in Chad's centre; precipitation there varies from 300 to 600 mm (11.8 to 23.6 in) per year. In the Sahel, a steppe of thorny bushes (mostly acacias) gradually gives way to the south to East Sudanian savanna in Chad's Sudanese zone.
On 22 June, the temperature reached 47.6 °C (117.7 °F) in Faya, breaking a record set in 1961 at the same location.
| Climatic Zone | Rainfall | Vegetation | Human Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saharan | Less than 200 mm (7.9 in) | Sparse | Largely nomadic |
| Sahelian | 200-700 mm (7.9-27.6 in) | Grass/shrub steppe to thorny, open savanna | - |
| Sudan | 700-1,000 mm (27.6-39.4 in) | Woodland savanna and deciduous forests | - |
| Guinea | 1,000-1,200 mm (39.4-47.2 in) | - | - |
Soils
Several types of soil formation occur in Chad, apart from the sand of the desert zone and the sheer rock of the mountainous areas. On the south side of Lake Chad the soils are derived from clayey deposits that accumulated on the floor of Mega-Chad. Along the seasonally flooded banks of the Chari and Logone rivers and the Salamat Wadi, hydromorphic (waterlogged) soils occur. Tropical iron-bearing soils, red in color, are found on the exposed folds and mounds of the Ouaddaï region’s upland slopes. In the area north of Lake Chad, subarid soils are characteristic, except in the depressions that occur between the dunes on the shores of Lake Chad, where hydromorphic soils liable to salinization are found.
Natural Resources and Environmental Issues
The mineral resources for Chad include uranium, natron, kaolin, salt, gold, limestone, sand and gravel. The fish in Lake Chad is a natural resource. Petroleum is also a resource.
Some of the environmental issues in rural areas of Chad are improper waste disposal, which contribute to the soil and water pollution.
Some of the environmental issues in rural areas of Chad are improper waste disposal, which contribute to the soil and water pollution. The hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in northern portion of Chad.
Chad is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: East Sudanian savanna, Sahelian Acacia savanna, Lake Chad flooded savanna, East Saharan montane xeric woodlands, South Saharan steppe and woodlands, and Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands. The region's tall grasses and extensive marshes make it favourable for birds, reptiles, and large mammals.
Chad's animal and plant life correspond to the three climatic zones. In the Saharan region, the only flora is the date-palm groves of the oasis. Palms and acacia trees grow in the Sahelian region. The southern, or Sudanic, zone consists of broad grasslands or prairies suitable for grazing. Elephants, lions, buffalo, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, giraffes, antelopes, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and many species of snakes are found here, although most large carnivore populations have been drastically reduced since the early 20th century.
Elephant poaching, particularly in the south of the country in areas such as Zakouma National Park, is a severe problem.
In Chad forest cover is around 3% of the total land area, equivalent to 4,313,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 6,730,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 4,293,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 19,800 hectares (ha). Extensive deforestation has resulted in loss of trees such as acacias, baobab, dates and palm trees.
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