Geography of Ivory Coast: Difference between revisions

| name = Ivory Coast

| map = [[File:Côte d'Ivoire Map.jpg|250px]]<br><br>[[File:LocationCotedIvoire.svg|240px]]

| continent = [[Africa]]

| region = [[Sub-Sahara]]

| coordinates = 8°0'N, 500'W

| area ranking =90th 68th

| km area = 78699

| percent land = 4.89

| km coastline = 590

| borders = [[Land borders|Total land borders]]:<br />{{convert|3458|km|mi|abbr=on}}<br />[[Liberia]]:&nbsp;{{convert|778|km|mi|abbr=on}}<br />[[Ghana]]:&nbsp;{{convert|720|km|mi|abbr=on}}<br />[[Guinea]]:&nbsp;{{convert|816|km|mi|abbr=on}}<br />[[Burkina Faso]]:&nbsp;{{convert|545|km|mi|abbr=on}}<br />[[Mali]]:&nbsp;{{convert|599|km|mi|abbr=on}}

| highest point = [[Mont Nimba]]<br />{{convert|1752|m|ft|abbr=on}}

| lowest point = [[Gulf of Guinea]]<br />0&nbsp;m/ft ([[sea level]])

| longest river = [[Bandama River]]

| largest lake = [[Lake Kossou]]}}

[[File:CôteKoppen-Geiger d’IvoireMap mapCIV of Köppen climate classificationpresent.svg|thumb|300px|Côte d'Ivoire map of Köppen climate classification.]]

'''[[Ivory Coast]]''' (Côte d'Ivoire) is a [[Sub-Saharan Africa|sub-Saharan]] nation in southern [[West Africa]] located at 8 00° N, 5 00° W. The country is approximately square in shape. Its southern border is a {{convert|515|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} coastline on the [[Gulf of Guinea]] on the north Atlantic Ocean. On the other three sides it borders five other African nations for a total of {{convert|3458|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}: [[Liberia]] to the southwest for {{convert|778|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, [[Guinea]] to the northwest for {{convert|816|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, [[Mali]] to the north-northwest for {{convert|599|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, [[Burkina Faso]] to the north-northeast for {{convert|545|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, and [[Ghana]] to the east for {{convert|720|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}.

Ivory Coast makes maritime claims of {{convert|200|nmi|km mi|1|lk=on0}} as an [[exclusive economic zone]], {{convert|12|nmi|km mi|10}} of territorial sea, and a {{convert|200|nmi|km mi|1adj=on}} [[continental shelf]].

Ivory Coast's terrain can generally be described as a large plateau rising gradually from sea level in the south to almost {{convert|500|m|ft|0-2|abbr=on}} elevation in the north. The nation's natural resources have made it into a comparatively prosperous nation in the [[Economy of Africa|African economy]].

The southeastern region of Ivory Coast is marked by coastal inland lagoons that startsstart at the Ghanaian border and stretch {{convert|300|km|mi|0-1|abbr=on}} along the eastern half of the coast. The southern region, especially the southwest, is covered with dense tropical moist forest. The [[Eastern Guinean forests]] extend from the [[Sassandra River]] across the south-central and southeast portion of Ivory Coast and east into [[Ghana]], while the [[Western Guinean lowland forests]] extend west from the [[Sassandra River]] into [[Liberia]] and southeastern [[Guinea]]. The mountains of [[Dix-Huit Montagnes]] region, in the west of the country near the border with Guinea and Liberia, are home to the [[Guinean montane forests]].

The [[Guinean forest-savanna mosaic]] belt extends across the middle of the country from east to west, and is the transition zone between the coastal forests and the interior [[savanna]]s. The forest-savanna mosaic interlaces forest, savanna and grassland habitats. Northern Ivory Coast is part of the [[West Sudanian Savanna]] ecoregion of the [[Tropicaltropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]] [[biome]]. It is a zone of [[laterite|lateritic]] or sandy soils, with vegetation decreasing from south to north.

The terrain is mostly flat to undulating plain, with mountains in the northwest. The lowest elevation in Ivory Coast is at sea level on the coastscoast. The highest elevation is [[Mount Nimba]], at {{convert|1752|m}} in the far west of the country along the border with Guinea and Liberia.

The [[Bandama River]] is the longest river in the Ivory Coast, with a length of some {{convert|800|km|mi|0-2|abbr=on}}, draining the east central part of the country. In 1973 the [[Kossou Dam]] was constructed at [[Kossou]] on the Bandama, creating [[Lake Kossou]]. The capital, [[Yamoussoukro]], is located near the river south of the lake.

The [[Komoé River]] originates on the [[Sikasso]] Plateau of [[Burkina Faso]],<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|author1=Rupley, Lawrence A. |author2=Bangali, Lamissa |author3=Diamitani, Boureima |title=Sikasso Plateau|year=2013|encyclopedia=Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso|location=Lanham, Maryland|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=HnRbA-pYcegC&pg=PA197 197]|isbn=978-0-8108-6770-3}}</ref> and briefly followsforms the border between Burkina Faso and [[Ivory Coast]] before entering Ivory Coast. It drains the northeastern and eastern-mosteasternmost portions of the country before emptying into the eastern end of the [[Ébrié Lagoon]] and ultimately the [[Gulf of Guinea]] in the Atlantic Ocean. Its waters contribute to the [[Comoé National Park]].<ref name="Mepham1991">{{cite book|last=Mepham|first=Robert|title=IUCN Directory of African Wetlands|publisher=Pinter Pub. Ltd.|year=1991|isbn=2-88032-949-3}}</ref>

The [[climate]] of Ivory Coast is generally warmhot and humid,. rangingMost fromof [[equator]]ialthe incountry thehas southerna coasts[[tropical tosavanna climate]] ([[TropicsKöppen climate classification|tropicalKöppen]] in''Aw''), although the middleUpper andGuinean semiaridforest inregion thebordering farLiberia northhas a [[tropical monsoon climate]] (''Am''). ThereIn the north, there are three seasons: warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), and hot and wet (June to October), whilst in the south there are two rainy seasons between April and July, and between October and November, a longer dry season from December to February, and a shorter dry season in August. Temperatures average between {{convert|25|and|32|°C|°F|1}} and range from {{convert|10|to|40|°C|°F}}.

Nine percent of the country is [[arable land]]. Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa, a major national [[cash crop]]. Other chief crops include [[coffee]], [[banana]]s, and [[Elaeis guineensis|oil palms]], which produce [[palm oil]] and kernels. [[NaturalMineral resourceresources]]s include [[petroleum]], [[natural gas]], [[diamond]]s, [[manganese]], [[iron]], [[cobalt]], [[bauxite]], [[copper]], [[gold]], [[nickel]], [[tantalum]], [[silica]] sand, [[clay]], [[palm oil]], and. [[hydropowerHydropower]] is also generated.

* Northernmost point –— the point at which the border with [[Mali]] enters the [[Bagoé riverRiver]], [[Savanes District]], the [[Sahel]].

* Westernmost point -— unnamed location on the border with [[Liberia]] in the [[Cestos River|Nuon riverRiver]] west of [[Klobli]], [[Montagnes District|Montagnes district]]

*{{CIA World Factbook|year=2015}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iv.html |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]|title=The World Factbook — Cote d'Ivoire |access-date=2004-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041124152832/http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook//geos/iv.html |archive-date=2004-11-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>