768 669 4 Chapter 1 GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE From its land to its people Nigeria is a nation of great diversity A land of grassy plains dense jungles mountains and deserts Nigeria is also home to many vibrant cultures and a rich history The Land Nigeria is the world's thirty second largest country It covers 356 square miles 923 sq km of western Africa Nigeria borders the countries of Benin
to the west Niger to the north Chad to the northeast and Cameroon to the southeast The Gulf of Guinea forms its southern border Open plains stretch over much of Nigeria These include coastal lowlands deltas pockets of rain forest in the south and grasslands and deserts in the north Zuma Rock is a large rock hill in central Nigeria once used to defend against invading armies 5
6 These lands have a variety of wildlife including elephants hyenas leopards and African buffalo Highlands rise in the middle of the country At 7,936 feet 2,419 m above sea level the mountain Chappal Waddi is Nigeria's highest peak Rivers and Lakes Two large rivers cut through Nigeria The Niger and the Benue combine in central Nigeria and flow south to the Niger delta Silts carried downstream by the river support Niger River delta
Kainji Dam stretches across the Niger River The dam creates hydroelectric power thick mangrove forests on the coast The Niger delta is slowly growing as the river deposits more silt every year Other rivers in Nigeria include the Kaduna the Anambra and the Sokoto Kainji Lake Nigeria's largest lake was made when a dam was put on the Niger River in 1968. Part of Lake Chad lies in eastern Nigeria Lake Chad a shallow lake often changes size depending on the season Over the past half century much of the lake has dried up The lake covers about 580 square miles 1,500 sq km 7
