Links Page on West Africa

Outline

  1. Countries
  2. Physical Characteristics
  3. Culture

Countries

Political Map of West Africa - A political map of western Africa.  This map is clear, but includes few cities.
Physical Map of West Africa - A physical map of western Africa.  Good depiction of rivers and lakes, but isn't very sharp.

Nigeria | Benin | Togo | Ghana | Burkina Faso | Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | Liberia | Sierra Leone | Guinea | Giunea-Bissau | Senegal | Gambia
CIA Factbook includes a short background of the countries along with facts including population, government, and economics.

Headlines - The United Nation selects a major event from each country in west Africa.  Updated daily these can help keep you up to date on events happening in the countries listed above.  Also includes links to view headlines from a specific country in the area.

Physical Characteristics

Climate of Ghana - A brief explanation of the tropical climate of Ghana.  This information can be generalized to apply to most of west Africa.  Climate is usually stable because of the ocean, however variations do occur with change of elevation.  There are also two typical wet seasons in the area, from April to July and from September to November.

Guinean forest and Savanna mosaic - National Geographic takes a look at the landscape and animal environment that covers most of west Africa.  The area can be summarized as a mix between a forest and a savanna.  Animals in the area include antelopes, forest elephants, monkeys, and waterfowl in some of the wetland areas.  The ecoregion has the highest mammalian diversity of all of the world's 25 ecosystem hotspots.

Fact sheet for the Upper Guinean Forest(pdf) - Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund's informational handout on the Upper Guinean Forest.  This section of the forest covers the south central part of western Africa.  This information includes fact like "only 15% of the original forest canopy remains", but also includes how this organization plans to help preserve and restore the area.

Culture

Chaos in West Africa: Unending Wars - An article that attempts to illustrate the complexity of the massive wars in the region.  Who's on what side on who's side and how are they helping?  How is the United Nations dealing with the situation? The answers are summed up in the first word of the title of the article, chaos.

Encarta's Overview of African Economics - Encarta Online Encyclopedia's entry about Africa.  This link will take you to the economic overview of Africa in the encyclopedia's entry.  Since prehistoric times Africa has relied on agriculture and hunting.  This reliance continues today, as most countries only produce enough food to feed themselves, and some countries struggle to produce that much.

Encarta's Overview of African Religions - Scroll half way down page and find a very good overview of the religions throughout Africa.  Although the Islamic religion is starting to grow on the continent, most regions still have their own distinct belief system similar to those of the Original beliefs of the Native Americans.

Submitted by Ryan Snyder on Friday October 17th, 2003.