Geography of Chad
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Chad is one of the 47 landlocked countries in the world and is located in North Central Africa, measuring Template:Convert, nearly twice the size of France and slightly more than three times the size of California. Most of its ethnically and linguistically diverse population lives in the south, with densities ranging from 54 persons per square kilometer in the Logone River basin to 0.1 persons in the northern B.E.T. (Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti) desert region, which itself is larger than France. The capital city of N'Djaména, situated at the confluence of the Chari and Logone Rivers, is cosmopolitan in nature, with a current population in excess of 700,000 people.
Chad has four climatic zones. The northernmost Saharan zone averages less than Template:Convert of rainfall annually. The sparse human population is largely nomadic, with some livestock, mostly small ruminants and camels. The central Sahelian zone receives between Template:Convert rainfall and has vegetation ranging from grass/shrub steppe to thorny, open savanna. The southern zone, often referred to as the Sudan zone, receives between Template:Convert, with woodland savanna and deciduous forests for vegetation. Rainfall in the Guinea zone, located in Chad's southwestern tip, ranges between Template:Convert. In Chad forest cover is around 3% of the total land area, equivalent to 4,313,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 6,730,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 4,293,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 19,800 hectares (ha). For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The country's topography is generally flat,<ref name="Leonard 2005"/> with the elevation gradually rising as one moves north and east away from Lake Chad. The highest point in Chad is Emi Koussi, a mountain that rises Template:Convert in the northern Tibesti Mountains. The Ennedi Plateau and the Ouaddaï highlands in the east complete the image of a gradually sloping basin, which descends towards Lake Chad. There are also central highlands in the Guera region rising to Template:Convert.
Lake Chad is the second largest lake in west Africa<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and is one of the most important wetlands on the continent.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Home to 120 species of fish and at least that many species of birds, the lake has shrunk dramatically in the last four decades due to increased water usage from an expanding population and low rainfall. Bordered by Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon, Lake Chad currently covers only 1,350 square kilometers, down from 25,000 square kilometers in 1963. The Chari and Logone Rivers, both of which originate in the Central African Republic and flow northward, provide most of the surface water entering Lake Chad. Chad is also next to Niger.
Geographical placementEdit
Located in north-central Africa, Chad stretches for about 1,800 kilometers from its northernmost point to its southern boundary.<ref name=":0">Template:Citation-attribution</ref> Except in the far northwest and south, where its borders converge, Chad's average width is about 800 kilometers.<ref name=":0" /> Its area of 1,284,000 square kilometers is roughly equal to the combined areas of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona.<ref name=":0" /> Chad's neighbors include Libya to the north, Niger and Nigeria to the west, Sudan to the east, Central African Republic to the south, and Cameroon to the southwest.<ref name=":0" />
Chad exhibits two striking geographical characteristics.<ref name=":0" /> First, the country is landlocked.<ref name=":0" /> N'Djamena, the capital, is located more than 1,100 kilometers northeast of the Atlantic Ocean; Abéché, a major city in the east, lies 2,650 kilometers from the Red Sea; and Faya-Largeau, a much smaller but strategically important center in the north, is in the middle of the Sahara Desert, 1,550 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea.<ref name=":0" /> These vast distances from the sea have had a profound impact on Chad's historical and contemporary development.<ref name=":0" />
The second noteworthy characteristic is that the country borders on very different parts of the African continent: North Africa, with its Islamic culture and economic orientation toward the Mediterranean Basin; and West Africa, with its diverse religions and cultures and its history of highly developed states and regional economies.<ref name=":0" />
Chad also borders Northeast Africa, oriented toward the Nile Valley and the Red Sea region - and Central or Equatorial Africa, some of whose people have retained classical African religions while others have adopted Christianity, and whose economies were part of the great Congo River system.<ref name=":0" /> Although much of Chad's distinctiveness comes from this diversity of influences, since independence the diversity has also been an obstacle to the creation of a national identity.<ref name=":0" />
LandEdit
Although Chadian society is economically, socially, and culturally fragmented, the country's geography is unified by the Lake Chad Basin.<ref name=":0" /> Once a huge inland sea (the Pale-Chadian Sea) whose only remnant is shallow Lake Chad, this vast depression extends west into Nigeria and Niger.<ref name=":0" /> The larger, northern portion of the basin is bounded within Chad by the Tibesti Mountains in the northwest, the Ennedi Plateau in the northeast, the Ouaddaï Highlands in the east along the border with Sudan, the Guéra Massif in central Chad, and the Mandara Mountains along Chad's southwestern border with Cameroon.<ref name=":0" /> The smaller, southern part of the basin falls almost exclusively in Chad.<ref name=":0" /> It is delimited in the north by the Guéra Massif, in the south by highlands 250 kilometers south of the border with Central African Republic, and in the southwest by the Mandara Mountains.<ref name=":0" />
Lake Chad, located in the southwestern part of the basin at an altitude of 282 meters, surprisingly does not mark the basin's lowest point; instead, this is found in the Bodele and Djourab regions in the north-central and northeastern parts of the country, respectively.<ref name=":0" /> This oddity arises because the great stationary dunes (ergs) of the Kanem region create a dam, preventing lake waters from flowing to the basin's lowest point.<ref name=":0" /> At various times in the past, and as late as the 1870s, the Bahr el Ghazal Depression, which extends from the northeastern part of the lake to the Djourab, acted as an overflow canal; since independence, climatic conditions have made overflows impossible.<ref name=":0" />
North and northeast of Lake Chad, the basin extends for more than 800 kilometers, passing through regions characterized by great rolling dunes separated by very deep depressions.<ref name=":0" /> Although vegetation holds the dunes in place in the Kanem region, farther north they are bare and have a fluid, rippling character.<ref name=":0" /> From its low point in the Djourab, the basin then rises to the plateaus and peaks of the Tibesti Mountains in the north.<ref name=":0" /> The summit of this formation—as well as the highest point in the Sahara Desert—is Emi Koussi, a dormant volcano that reaches 3,414 meters above sea level.<ref name=":0" />
The basin's northeastern limit is the Ennedi Plateau, whose limestone bed rises in steps etched by erosion.<ref name=":0" /> East of the lake, the basin rises gradually to the Ouaddaï Highlands, which mark Chad's eastern border and also divide the Chad and Nile watersheds.<ref name=":0" /> These highland areas are part of the East Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion.
Southeast of Lake Chad, the regular contours of the terrain are broken by the Guéra Massif, which divides the basin into its northern and southern parts.<ref name=":0" /> South of the lake lie the floodplains of the Chari and Logone rivers, much of which are inundated during the rainy season.<ref name=":0" /> Farther south, the basin floor slopes upward, forming a series of low sand and clay plateaus, called koros, which eventually climb to 615 meters above sea level.<ref name=":0" /> South of the Chadian border, the koros divide the Lake Chad Basin from the Ubangi-Zaire river system.<ref name=":0" />
Water systemsEdit
Permanent streams do not exist in northern or central Chad.<ref name=":0" /> Following infrequent rains in the Ennedi Plateau and Ouaddaï Highlands, water may flow through depressions called enneris and wadis.<ref name=":0" /> Often the result of flash floods, such streams usually dry out within a few days as the remaining puddles seep into the sandy clay soil.<ref name=":0" /> The most important of these streams is the Batha, which in the rainy season carries water west from the Ouaddaï Highlands and the Guéra Massif to Lake Fitri.<ref name=":0" />
Chad's major rivers are the Chari and the Logone and their tributaries, which flow from the southeast into Lake Chad.<ref name=":0" /> Both river systems rise in the highlands of Central African Republic and Cameroon, regions that receive more than 1,250 millimeters of rainfall annually.<ref name=":0" /> Fed by rivers of Central African Republic, as well as by the Bahr Salamat, Bahr Aouk, and Bahr Sara rivers of southeastern Chad, the Chari River is about 1,200 kilometers long.<ref name=":0" /> From its origins near the city of Sarh, the middle course of the Chari makes its way through swampy terrain; the lower Chari is joined by the Logone River near N'Djamena.<ref name=":0" /> The Chari's volume varies greatly, from 17 cubic meters per second during the dry season to 340 cubic meters per second during the wettest part of the year.<ref name=":0" />
The Logone River is formed by tributaries flowing from Cameroon and Central African Republic.<ref name=":0" /> Both shorter and smaller in volume than the Chari, it flows northeast for 960 kilometers; its volume ranges from five to eighty-five cubic meters per second.<ref name=":0" /> At N'Djamena the Logone empties into the Chari, and the combined rivers flow together for thirty kilometers through a large delta and into Lake Chad.<ref name=":0" /> At the end of the rainy season in the fall, the river overflows its banks and creates a huge floodplain in the delta.<ref name=":0" />
The seventh largest lake in the world (and the fourth largest in Africa), Lake Chad is located in the sahelian zone, a region just south of the Sahara Desert.<ref name=":0" /> The Chari River contributes 95 percent of Lake Chad's water, an average annual volume of 40 billion cubic meters, 95% of which is lost to evaporation.<ref name=":0" /> The size of the lake is determined by rains in the southern highlands bordering the basin and by temperatures in the Sahel.<ref name=":0" /> Fluctuations in both cause the lake to change dramatically in size, from 9,800 square kilometers in the dry season to 25,500 at the end of the rainy season.<ref name=":0" />
Lake Chad also changes greatly in size from one year to another.<ref name=":0" /> In 1870 its maximum area was 28,000 square kilometers.<ref name=":0" /> The measurement dropped to 12,700 in 1908.<ref name=":0" /> In the 1940s and 1950s, the lake remained small, but it grew again to 26,000 square kilometers in 1963.<ref name=":0" /> The droughts of the late 1960s, early 1970s, and mid-1980s caused Lake Chad to shrink once again, however.<ref name=":0" /> The only other lakes of importance in Chad are Lake Fitri, in Batha Prefecture, and Lake Iro, in the marshy southeast.<ref name=":0" />
ClimateEdit
The Lake Chad Basin embraces a great range of tropical climates from north to south, although most of these climates tend to be dry.<ref name=":0" /> Apart from the far north, most regions are characterized by a cycle of alternating rainy and dry seasons.<ref name=":0" /> In any given year, the duration of each season is determined largely by the positions of two great air masses—a maritime mass over the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest and a much drier continental mass.<ref name=":0" />
During the rainy season, winds from the southwest push the moister maritime system north over the African continent where it meets and slips under the continental mass along a front called the "intertropical convergence zone".<ref name=":0" /> At the height of the rainy season, the front may reach as far as Kanem Prefecture.<ref name=":0" /> By the middle of the dry season, the intertropical convergence zone moves south of Chad, taking the rain with it.<ref name=":0" /> This weather system contributes to the formation of three major regions of climate and vegetation.<ref name=":0" />
Saharan regionEdit
The Saharan region covers roughly the northern half of the country, including Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Prefecture along with the northern parts of Kanem, Batha, and Biltine prefectures.<ref name=":0" /> Much of this area receives only traces of rain during the entire year; at Faya-Largeau, for example, annual rainfall averages less than Template:Convert, and there are nearly 3800 hours of sunshine.<ref name=":0" /> Scattered small oases and occasional wells provide water for a few date palms or small plots of millet and garden crops.<ref name=":0" />
In much of the north, the average daily maximum temperature is about Template:Convert during January, the coolest month of the year, and about Template:Convert during May, the hottest month.<ref name=":0" /> On occasion, strong winds from the northeast produce violent sandstorms.<ref name=":0" /> In northern Biltine Prefecture, a region called the Mortcha plays a major role in animal husbandry.<ref name=":0" /> Dry for eight months of the year, it receives Template:Convert or more of rain, mostly during July and August.<ref name=":0" />
A carpet of green springs from the desert during this brief wet season, attracting herders from throughout the region who come to pasture their cattle and camels.<ref name=":0" /> Because very few wells and springs have water throughout the year, the herders leave with the end of the rains, turning over the land to the antelopes, gazelles, and ostriches that can survive with little groundwater.<ref name=":0" /> Northern Chad averages over 3500 hours of sunlight per year, the south somewhat less.
Sahelian regionEdit
The semiarid sahelian zone, or Sahel, forms a belt about Template:Convert wide that runs from Lac and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures eastward through Guéra, Ouaddaï, and northern Salamat prefectures to the Sudanese frontier.<ref name=":0" /> The climate in this transition zone between the desert and the southern sudanian zone is divided into a rainy season (from June to September) and a dry period (from October to May).<ref name=":0" />
In the northern Sahel, thorny shrubs and acacia trees grow wild, while date palms, cereals, and garden crops are raised in scattered oases.<ref name=":0" /> Outside these settlements, nomads tend their flocks during the rainy season, moving southward as forage and surface water disappear with the onset of the dry part of the year.<ref name=":0" /> The central Sahel is characterized by drought-resistant grasses and small woods.<ref name=":0" /> Rainfall is more abundant there than in the Saharan region.<ref name=":0" /> For example, N'Djamena records a maximum annual average rainfall of Template:Convert, while Ouaddaï Prefecture receives just a bit less.<ref name=":0" />
During the hot season, in April and May, maximum temperatures frequently rise above Template:Convert.<ref name=":0" /> In the southern part of the Sahel, rainfall is sufficient to permit crop production on unirrigated land, and millet and sorghum are grown.<ref name=":0" /> Agriculture is also common in the marshlands east of Lake Chad and near swamps or wells.<ref name=":0" /> Many farmers in the region combine subsistence agriculture with the raising of cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry.<ref name=":0" /> Template:Weather box
Sudanian regionEdit
The humid sudanian zone includes the Sahel,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the southern prefectures of Mayo-Kebbi, Tandjilé, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Moyen-Chari, and southern Salamat.<ref name=":0" /> Between April and October, the rainy season brings between Template:Convert of precipitation.<ref name=":0" /> Temperatures are high throughout the year.<ref name=":0" /> Daytime readings in Moundou, the major city in the southwest, range from Template:Convert in the middle of the cool season in January to about Template:Convert in the hot months of March, April, and May.<ref name=":0" />
The sudanian region is predominantly East Sudanian savanna, or plains covered with a mixture of tropical or subtropical grasses and woodlands.<ref name=":0" /> The growth is lush during the rainy season but turns brown and dormant during the five-month dry season between November and March.<ref name=":0" /> Over a large part of the region, however, natural vegetation has yielded to agriculture.
2010 droughtEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} On 22 June, the temperature reached Template:Convert in Faya, breaking a record set in 1961 at the same location. Similar temperature rises were also reported in Niger, which began to enter a famine situation.<ref name="MastersNOAA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 26 July the heat reached near-record levels over Chad and Niger.<ref name="wunderground.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
AreaEdit
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Area:
total:
1.284 million km2
land:
1,259,200 km2
water:
24,800 km2
Area — comparative:
- Canada: slightly less than twice the size of Alberta
- US: slightly more than three times the size of California
- Australia: slightly smaller than the Northern Territory
BoundariesEdit
Land boundaries:
total:
6,406 km
border countries:
Cameroon 1,116 km, Central African Republic 1,556 km, Libya 1,050 km, Niger 1,196 km, Nigeria 85 km, Sudan 1,403 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point:
Bodélé Depression 160 m<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
highest point:
Emi Koussi 3,415 m<ref name="gvp">Template:Cite gvp</ref>
Land use and resourcesEdit
Natural resources: petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Chari River, Logone River), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt
Land use:
arable land:
3.89%
permanent crops:
0.03%
other:
96.08% (2012)
Irrigated land: 302.7 km2 (2003)
Total renewable water resources: 43 km3 (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total:
0.88 km3/yr (12%/12%/76%)
per capita:
84.81 m3/yr (2005)
Environmental issuesEdit
Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty, Harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues
Environment - current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification
See alsoEdit
Extreme pointsEdit
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This is a list of the extreme points of Chad, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
- Northernmost point - an unnamed location on the border with Libya, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region
- Easternmost point - the northern section of the Chad-Sudan border, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region *
- Southernmost point - unnamed location on the border with Central African Republic at a confluence in the Lébé river, Logone Oriental region
- Westernmost point - unnamed location west of the town of Kanirom and immediately north of Lake Chad, Lac Region
*Note: technically Chad does not have an easternmost point, the easternmost section of the border being formed by the 24° of longitude
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
External linksEdit
- Template:Coord – title=Field Listing: Geographic Coordinates. Geo-links for Geography of Chad.
- Detailed map of Chad from www.izf.net
Template:Chad topics Template:Geography of Africa Template:Africa topic