Theory question 104
Nigeria: Physical Setting(a) Describe Nigeria under the following headings: (i) location; (ii) size. (b) In what five ways are highlands important to the economy of Nigeria?
Show the model answer
(a)(i) Location: in West Africa, between latitudes 4°N and 14°N and longitudes 3°E and 15°E; bounded by the Republic of Benin to the west, Niger to the north, Chad to the north-east, Cameroon to the east and the Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Guinea/Bight of Benin and Biafra) to the south.
(ii) Size: area of about 923,768 km²; about 1,040 km from north to south and 1,120 km from east to west; coastline about 800 km; one of the largest countries in West Africa and the most populous in Africa; 36 states and FCT.
(b) Minerals (tin and columbite on the Jos Plateau, coal at Udi, gold); sources of rivers and sites for HEP and dams (Shiroro); cool climate good for tourism and resorts (Jos, Obudu Cattle Ranch, Mambilla); grazing land free of tsetse; temperate crops (Irish potatoes, tea on Mambilla); forest products; relief rainfall; defence and boundaries.
Give latitude and longitude figures for location.