GeographyBenin
Benin,narrow, north-south striplandWest Africa, lies betweenEquator andTropicCancer. Benin?s latitude ranges from 6°30N12°30Nits longitude from 1°E3°40E. Beninbounded by Togo towest, Burkina FasoNiger tonorth, Nigeria toeast, andBightBenin tosouth. With an area112,622 square kilometers, roughlysizePennsylvania, Benin extends fromNiger River innorth toAtlantic Ocean insouth,distance700 km. (about 500 mi.). Althoughcoastline measures 121 km. (about 80 mi.),country measures about 325 km. (about 215 mi.) at its widest point. Itone ofsmaller countriesWest Africa: eight times smaller than Nigeria, its neighbor toeast. It is, however, twice as large as Togo, its neighbor towest. A relief mapBenin shows thathas little variationelevation (average elevation 200 meters).
The country can be divided into four main areas fromsouth tonorth. The low-lying, sandy, coastal plain (highest elevation 10 meters) is, at most, 10 km. wide. Itmarshydottedlakeslagoons communicating withocean. The plateaussouthern Benin (altitude comprised between 20 meters200 meters)split by valleys running northsouth alongCouffo, Zou,Oueme Rivers. An areaflat lands dottedrocky hills whose altitude seldom reaches 400 meters extends around NikkiSave. Finally,rangemountains extends alongnorthwest borderinto Togo; this isAtacora, withhighest point, Mont Sokbaro, at 658 meters. Two typeslandscape predominate insouth. Benin has fieldslying fallow, mangroves,remnantslarge sacred forests. Inrest ofcountry,savannacoveredthorny scrubsdottedhuge baobab trees. Some forests linebanksrivers. Innorth andnorthwestBeninReserve du W du NigerPendjari National Park attract tourists eagersee elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos,monkeys.
Benin?s climatehothumid. Annual rainfall incoastal area averages 36 cm. (14 in.), not particularly highcoastal West Africa. Benin has two rainytwo dry seasons. The principal rainy seasonfrom Aprillate July, withshorter less intense rainy period from late SeptemberNovember. The main dry seasonfrom DecemberApril, withshort cooler dry season from late Julyearly September. Temperatureshumidityhigh alongtropical coast. In Cotonou,average maximum temperature31°C (89°F);minimum24°C (75°F). Variationstemperature increase when moving north throughsavannaplateau towardSahel. A dry wind fromSahara calledHarmattan blows from DecemberMarch. Grass dries up,vegetation turns reddish brown, andveilfine dust hangs overcountry, causingskiesbe overcast. Italsoseason when farmers burn brush infields.
Location: Western Africa, borderingNorth Atlantic Ocean, between NigeriaTogo
Geographic coordinates: 9 30 N, 2 15 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total:
112,620 kmē
land:
110,620 kmē
water:
2,000 kmē
Area comparative
- Australia comparative: about halfsizeVictoria
- Canada comparative: 1.5 times larger than New Brunswick
- United Kingdom comparative: smaller than England
- United States comparative: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries:
total:
1,989 km
border countries:
Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Coastline: 121 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
200 nautical miles
Climate: tropical; hot, humidsouth; semiaridnorth
Terrain: mostly flatundulating plain; some hillslow mountains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Land use:
arable land:
15%
permanent crops:
1%
other:
84% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 120 kmē (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect northDecemberMarch
Environment - current issues: recent droughts have severely affected marginal agriculturenorth; inadequate suppliespotable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law ofSea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
none ofselected agreements
Geography - note: sandbanks create difficult access tocoastno natural harbors, river mouths, or islands.
