Theory question 105
Nigeria: Physical Setting(a) Draw an outline map of Nigeria. On it, locate and name: (i) The Chad Basin; (ii) The Western Highlands; (iii) One important town in 5(a)(i) or (ii) above. (b) Describe the geography of the Western Highlands under the following headings: (i) Relief; (ii) Economic activities; (iii) Problems of development.
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(a) Map: Chad Basin in the north-east (Maiduguri); Western Highlands in the south-west/west (Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara; towns such as Oyo, Ilorin, Ado-Ekiti, Iseyin).
(b)(i) Relief: undulating upland of crystalline basement rock, 300-600 m, rising above 600 m in the Ekiti and Idanre hills; inselbergs (e.g. Olumo Rock, Idanre); dissected by rivers (Ogun, Osun, Oyo) flowing south.
(ii) Economic activities: cocoa, kola and oil palm farming in the south; yams, maize, cassava and tobacco; cattle in drier north; lumbering; quarrying and mining (granite, kaolin, gold at Ilesha); trade and crafts (weaving, dyeing); tourism.
(iii) Problems: soil erosion and leaching; rugged terrain for roads; bush burning; ageing cocoa farms and pests; rural-urban migration; poor roads and amenities; insufficient capital.
Keep (b) to the Western Highlands only.