Nigeria, often called the "Giant of Africa," owes this name to its vast land, diverse cultures and languages, large population (the largest in Africa), and abundant oil and other natural resources.
Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa (186,053,386), and the greatest diversity of cultures, ways of life, cities and terrain.
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.
Nigeria covers a total area of 923,768 sq km, making it the 14th largest country in Africa. It borders the Gulf of Guinea between Benin and Cameroun with a coastline that stretches 853km. It has a total land boundary of 4,477km distributed among its neighbouring countries-Benin 809 km, Cameroon 1,975 km, Chad 85 km and Niger 1,608 km and lies between the geographic coordinates of10 00 N, 8 00 E. Until 1989 the capital was Lagos but the government moved the capital to Abujain December 1991.
Nigeria is located in West Africa, sharing a border with Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. To the south, it borders the Gulf of Guinea, part of the Atlantic Ocean. Nigeria has a range of natural environments, from semi-deserts in the north to tropical rainforest in the south.
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Nigeria is almost 4 times the physical size of the UK. Its population, at just over 200,000,000, is three times the size of the UK. 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.
Topography and Relief
In general, the topography of Nigeria consists of plains in the north and south interrupted by plateaus and hills in the centre of the country. The Sokoto Plains lie in the northwestern corner of the country, while the Borno Plains in the northeastern corner extend as far as the Lake Chad basin. The Lake Chad basin and the coastal areas, including the Niger River delta and the western parts of the Sokoto region in the far northwest, are underlain by soft, geologically young sedimentary rocks. Gently undulating plains, which become waterlogged during the rainy season, are found in these areas.
The characteristic landforms of the plateaus are high plains with broad, shallow valleys dotted with numerous hills or isolated mountains, called inselbergs; the underlying rocks are crystalline, although sandstones appear in river areas. The Jos Plateau rises almost in the centre of the country; it consists of extensive lava surfaces dotted with numerous extinct volcanoes. Other eroded surfaces, such as the Udi-Nsukka escarpment (see Udi-Nsukka Plateau), rise abruptly above the plains at elevations of at least 1,000 feet (300 metres).
Much of Nigeria's surface consists of ancient crystalline rocks of the African Shield. Having been subject to weathering and erosion for long periods, the characteristic landscape of this area is extensive level plains interrupted by occasional granite mountains. These features form a major landscape type of Nigeria and of West Africa as a whole. There are also smaller areas of younger granites found, for example, on the Jos Plateau .
Sedimentary strata dating from various periods overlay the older rocks in many areas. The sedimentary areas typically consist of flat-topped ridges and dissected plateaus and a characteristic landscape of extensive plains and no major rocky outcrops. This landscape is generally true of the basins of the Niger and Benue rivers as well as the depressions of the Chad and Sokoto basins in the far northeast and northwest of the country, respectively.
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The most dramatic of the sedimentary landscapes are in southeastern Nigeria, where thick sedimentary beds from the Abakaliki Uplift to the Anambra Basin have been tilted and eroded. This process has resulted in a rugged scarp land topography with east-facing cliffs at in the Udi Hills, north of Enugu, and in the area around Nanka and Agulu.
Although relatively little of the Nigerian landscape has been shaped by volcanic episodes, there are two main areas of volcanic rock. They are found on the Biu Plateau in the northeast, extending into some localized volcanic areas along the eastern border with Cameroon, and on the Jos Plateau in the northern center of the country.
The elevational pattern of most of Nigeria consists of a gradual rise from the coastal plains to the northern savanna regions, generally reaching an elevation of 600 to 700 meters. Higher altitudes, reaching more than 1,200 meters in elevation, are found only in isolated areas of the Jos Plateau and in parts of the eastern highlands along the Cameroon border.
The coastal plain extends inland for about ten kilometers and rises to an elevation of forty to fifty meters above sea level at its northern boundary. The eastern and western sections of the coastal plain are separated by the Niger Delta, which extends over an area of about 10,000 square kilometers. Much of this is swampland, separated by numerous islands. The coastal plain region penetrates inland about seventy-five kilometers in the west but extends farther in the east.
This region is gently undulating with elevation increasing northward and a mean elevation of about 150 meters above sea level. Much of the population of southern Nigeria is located in these eastern and western coastal plains and in some of the contiguous areas of the coast and the lower Niger Basin.
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Separating the two segments of the coastal plain and extending to the northeast and northwest are the broad river basins of the Niger and Benue rivers. The upper reaches of these rivers form narrow valleys and contain falls and rapids. Most of the lower portions, however, are free from rapids and have extensive floodplains and braided stream channels.
To the north of the Niger and Benue basins are the broad, stepped plateau and granite mountains that characterize much of northern Nigeria. Such mountains are also found in the southwest, in the region between the western coastal plains and the upper Niger Basin. The western wedge between Abeokuta and Ibadan and the Niger Basin reaches elevations of 600 meters or more, while the extensive northern savanna region, stretching from Kontagora to Gombe and east to the border, includes extensive areas with elevations of more than 1,200 meters or more at its center.
The mountainous zone along the middle part of the eastern border, the Cameroon Highlands, includes the country's highest point (2,042 meters). In the far northeast and northwest, elevation falls again to below 300 meters in the Chad Basin in the far northeast and the Sokoto Basin in the northwest.
Nigeria's most expansive topographical region is that of the Niger and Benue River valleys, which merge into each other and form a "y" shaped confluence at Lokoja. Plains rise to the north of the valleys. To the southwest of the Niger there is "rugged" highland, and to the southeast of the Benue hills and mountains are found all the way to the border with Cameroon.
Rivers and Drainage
The major drainage areas in Nigeria are the Niger-Benue basin, the Lake Chad basin, and the Gulf of Guinea basin. The Niger River, for which the country is named, and the Benue, its largest tributary, are the principal rivers. The Niger has many rapids and waterfalls, but the Benue is not interrupted by either and is navigable throughout its length, except during the dry season. Rivers draining the area north of the Niger-Benue trough include the Sokoto, the Kaduna, the Gongola, and the rivers draining into Lake Chad. The coastal areas are drained by short rivers that flow into the Gulf of Guinea.
The broad, mostly level valleys of the Niger and Benue rivers, form Nigeria’s largest physical region. The Niger enters the country from the Northwest, the Benue from the Northeast; the two rivers join in Lokoja in the South central region and continue south, where they empty into the Atlantic at the Niger Delta. Together, they form the shape of a Y. Population densities and agricultural development are generally lower in the Niger and Benue valleys than in other areas.
The Niger Delta is located in the southern part of Nigeria. It is one of the world's largest arcuate fan-shaped river deltas. The riverine area of the Niger Delta is a coastal belt of swamps bordering the Atlantic. The mangrove swamps are vegetated tidal flats formed by a reticulate pattern of interconnected meandering creeks and tributaries of the Niger River. About 70% of Nigeria's crude oil and gas production is from the area.
Southwest of the Niger Valley (on the left side of the Y) lies the comparatively rugged terrain of the Yoruba highlands. Between the highlands and the ocean runs a coastal plain averaging 80 km in width from the border of Benin to the Niger Delta. The delta, which lies at the base of the Y and separates the southwestern coast from the southeastern coast, is 36,000 sq km of low-lying, swampy terrain and multiple channels through which the waters of the great river empty into the ocean. Several of the delta’s channels and some of the inshore lagoons can be navigated.
Southeastern coastal Nigeria (to the right of the Y) consists of low sedimentary plains that are essentially an extension of the Southwestern coastal plains. In all, the Atlantic coastline extends for 850 km. It is marked by a series of sandbars, backed by lagoons of brackish water that support the growth of mangroves. Large parts of Africa’s Bight of Benin and Bight of Biafra fall along the coast.
Because of the Guinea Current, which transports and deposits large amounts of sand, the coastline is quite straight and has few good natural harbours. The harbours that do exist must be constantly dredged to remove deposited sand. Inlands, from the Southeastern coast, are progressively higher regions. In some areas, such as the Udi Hills Northwest of Enugu, escarpments have been formed by dipping rock strata.
Farther east, along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, lie the eastern highlands, made of several distinct ranges and plateaus, including the Mandara Mountains, the Shebeshi Mountains, the Alantika Mountains, and the Mambila Mountains.
STATES OF NIGERIA EXPLAINED!
Climate
As in most of West Africa, Nigeria's climate is characterized by strong latitudinal zones, becoming progressively drier as one moves north from the coast. Rainfall is the key climatic variable, and there is a marked alternation of wet and dry seasons in most areas. Two air masses control rainfall--moist northward-moving maritime air coming from the Atlantic Ocean and dry continental air coming south from the African landmass. Topographic relief plays a significant role in local climate only around the Jos Plateau and along the eastern border highlands.
Nigeria has majorly four climate types; these climate types are generally gradated from south to north.
In the coastal and southeastern portions of Nigeria, the rainy season usually begins in February or March as moist Atlantic air, known as the southwest monsoon, invades the country. The beginning of the rains is usually marked by the incidence of high winds and heavy but scattered squalls. The scattered quality of this storm rainfall is especially noticeable in the north in dry years, when rain may be abundant in some small areas while other contiguous places are completely dry. By April or early May in most years, the rainy season is under way throughout most of the area south of the Niger and Benue river valleys. Farther north, it is usually June or July before the rains really commence.
The peak of the rainy season occurs through most of northern Nigeria in August, when air from the Atlantic covers the entire country. In southern regions, this period marks the August dip in precipitation. Although rarely completely dry, this dip in rainfall, which is especially marked in the southwest, can be useful agriculturally, because it allows a brief dry period for grain harvesting.
From September through November, the northeast trade winds generally bring a season of clear skies, moderate temperatures, and lower humidity for most of the country. From December through February, however, the northeast trade winds blow strongly and often bring with them a load of fine dust from the Sahara. These dust-laden winds, known locally as the harmattan, often appear as a dense fog and cover everything with a layer of fine particles. The harmattan is more common in the north but affects the entire country except for a narrow strip along the southwest coast. An occasional strong harmattan, however, can sweep as far south as Lagos, providing relief from high humidities in the capital and pushing clouds of dust out to sea.
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 are brought into the country by the (maritime tropical) MT air mass, 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. The southern part of Nigeria experiences heavy and abundant rainfall. These storms are usually convectional in nature because of the region's proximity to the equatorial belt. The annual rainfall received in this region is very high. Parts of the Niger Delta receives over 4,000 millimetres or 160 inches of annual rainfall, while the southeast receives between 2,000 and 3,000 millimetres (80 and 120 in). The southern region of Nigeria experiences a double rainfall maxima with two high peaks. The first rainy season starts in March, ending in June.
The tropical savanna climate, characterized by distinct rainy and dry seasons, dominates western to central Nigeria. It has a single peak in the summer and consistently high temperatures above 18 °C or 64.4 °F. With the Intertropical Convergence Zone swinging northward over West Africa from the Southern Hemisphere in April, heavy showers coming from pre-monsoonal convective clouds mainly in the form of squall lines also known as the north easterlies formed mainly as a result of the interactions of the two dominant airmasses in Nigeria known as the maritime tropical (south westerlies) and the continental tropical (north easterlies), begins in central Nigeria while monsoons arrive in July, bringing with it high humidity, heavy cloud cover and heavy rainfall lasting until September when the monsoons gradually begin retreating southward to the southern part of Nigeria.
A hot semi-arid climate (BSh) is predominant within the Sahel in the northern part of Nigeria. Annual rainfall totals are low. The rainy season in the northern part of Nigeria lasts for three to four months (June to September). The rest of the year is hot and dry with temperatures climbing as high as 40 °C (104.0 °F) .
Highland climates are found on highlands regions in Nigeria. Rainfall in the coastal belt of the Niger Delta is heavy due to the closeness of the Delta region to the equator. Annual rainfall totals vary from 2,400 millimetres or 94 inches at Port Harcourt to as much as 4,870 millimetres or 192 inches at Forcados, a coastal town in the Niger Delta, 4,200 millimetres or 165 inches at Bonny, and 3,070 millimetres or 121 inches in Calabar, the rainiest city with over one million people in Nigeria.
The tropical maritime air mass (MT) is responsible for Nigeria's rainy season. This wind begins in February in the southern part of Nigeria while it takes longer for the wind to fully cover the whole of the country, reaching the northern part of Nigeria in June. Its presence a result of the northward retreat of the Harmattan. The northward retreat of the tropical continental air mass (CT) is caused by the sun's northward shift from the tropic of capricorn in the southern hemisphere to the tropic of cancer in the northern hemisphere. This shift begins from February and ends in June, when the sun is fully overhead at the tropic of cancer. During this northward migration of the sun as a result of the earth tilting along its axis, the sun crosses the equator (around March), moving over West Africa. West Africa comes directly under the sun at this time.
The heating of the West Africa land mass creates a low pressure region over West Africa. The tropical maritime air mass is a warm, humid and unstable trade wind. Convection currents form within the airmass whenever there is little instability in the airmass as a result of a slight to a very high orographic uplift in mountainous regions like the Obudu Plateau or the heating of the land which can trigger the formation of cumulonimbus cloud leading to thunderstorms within the air mass. The African easterly wave is another major contributor of rainfall during the summer monsoons months of May to September. The nature of this wave changes at about 15 degrees north latitude.
The tropical continental air mass, locally known as the Harmattan, is a wind originating from North Africa which crosses the Sahara into West Africa. Nigeria's dry season from December to March is dominated by a dusty tropical continental air mass, which creates a haze and hinders visibility. Originating near the equator, it generates dust rather than precipitation.
Nigeria's seasons and temperature variance are determined by rainfall with rainy season and dry season being the major seasons in Nigeria. The rainy season of Nigeria brings in slightly cooler weather to the country as a result of an increased cloud cover that acts as a blockage of the intense sunshine of the tropics by blocking much of the Sun's rays in the rainy season (and trapping some heat in the ground, making it not too cold); this in turn cools the land, and the winds above the ground remain cool thereby making for cooler temperatures during the rainy season. Despite the temperatures being cooler in the rainy season, the rainy season also has an increased temperature at night compared to the dry season. Also afternoons in the rainy season can be hot and humid.
The dry season of Nigeria is a period of less cloud cover in the southern part of Nigeria to virtually no cloud cover in the northern part of Nigeria. The Sun shines through the atmosphere with little obstructions from the clear skies making the dry season in Nigeria a period of warmer weather conditions. In the middle of the dry season around December, the dust brought in by the Harmattan partially blocks the sun's rays, which lowers temperatures.
Given this climatological cycle and the size of the country, there is a considerable range in total annual rainfall across Nigeria, both from south to north and, in some regions, from east to west. The greatest total precipitation is generally in the southeast, along the coast around Bonny (south of Port Harcourt) and east of Calabar, where mean annual rainfall is more than 4,000 millimeters. Most of the rest of the southeast receives between 2,000 and 3,000 millimeters of rain per year, and the southwest (lying farther north) receives lower total rainfall, generally between 1,250 and 2,500 millimeters per year.
North of Kaduna, through the northern Guinea savanna and then the Sudan savanna zones, the total rainfall and the length of the rainy season decline steadily. The Guinea savanna starts in the middle belt, or southern part of northern Nigeria. It is distinguished from the Sudan savanna because it has more trees whereas the Sudan few trees. Rainy seasons decline correspondingly in length as one moves north, with Kano having an average rainy period of 120 to 130 days, and Katsina and Sokoto having rainy seasons 10 to 20 days shorter. Average annual rainfall in the north is in the range of 500 to 750 millimeters.
The regularity of drought periods has been among the most notable aspects of Nigerian climate in recent years, particularly in the drier regions in the north. Experts regard the twentieth century as having been among the driest periods of the last several centuries; the well publicized droughts of the 1970s and 1980s were only the latest of several significant such episodes to affect West Africa in this century. At least two of these droughts have severely affected large areas of northern Nigeria and the Sahel region farther north. These drought periods are indications of the great variability of climate across tropical Africa, the most serious effects of which are usually felt at the drier margins of agricultural zones or in the regions occupied primarily by pastoral groups.
Temperatures throughout Nigeria are generally high; diurnal variations are more pronounced than seasonal ones. Highest temperatures occur during the dry season; rains moderate afternoon highs during the wet season. Although average temperatures vary little from coastal to inland areas, inland areas, especially in the northeast, have greater extremes. There, temperatures reach as high as 44° C before the onset of the rains or drop as low as 6° C during an intrusion of cool air from the north from December to February.
Semi-temperate weather conditions prevail on the highlands in central Nigeria above 1,200 metres (3,937 ft) above sea level, namely the Jos Plateau. Temperatures on the Jos plateau ranges between 16 and 25 °C (61 and 77 °F) which are cool all year round. Temperate weather conditions occur on the highlands along the Nigeria Cameroon border, in the eastern part of Nigeria. Highlands in these region attain an average height of more than 1,524 m (5,000 ft) to some standing above 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) above sea level. The climate on these highlands is temperate all year round. The major highlands in this region are the Obudu Plateau above 1,584 m (5,197 ft), Mambilla Plateau above 1,524 m (5,000 ft) and Mt.
Soils
Soils in Nigeria, and in Africa generally, are usually of a poorer quality than those in other regions of the world. However, over the centuries Nigerians have utilized agricultural techniques such as slash and burn, intercropping, and the use of shallow planting implements to cope with the shortcomings of the soil. In the precolonial period the country normally produced enough agricultural commodities to feed its population, and it even maintained a surplus for export.
Nigeria’s major soil zones conform to geographic location. Loose sandy soils consisting of wind-borne deposits and riverine sands are found in the northern regions, although, in areas where there is a marked dry season, a dense surface layer of laterite develops, making these soils difficult to cultivate. The soils in the northern states of Kano and Sokoto, however, are not subject to leaching and are therefore easily farmed.
South of Kano the mixed soils contain locally derived granite and loess (wind-borne deposits). The middle two-thirds of the country, the savanna regions, contain reddish, laterite soils; they are somewhat less fertile than those of the north because they are not subject to as much seasonal drying, nor do they receive the greater rainfall that occurs in the more southerly regions. The forest soils represent the third zone. There the vegetation provides humus and protects it from erosion by heavy rainfall. Although these soils can readily be leached and lose their fertility, they are the most productive agriculturally.
Hydromorphic and organic soils, confined largely to areas underlain by sedimentary rocks along the coast and river floodplains, are the youngest soil types.
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