(1) The Lowlands, which stretch along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic, are margined by low, sandy, surf-beaten coasts, fringed by mangrove swamps and devoid of good natural harbors. Great heat, heavy rainfall, with dense equatorial forests, are characteristic of the coastal zone. Today much of the commercial importance of the Guinea Lands lies in their exports of tropical products to the temperate zone. Chief among these products are palm-oil, palm kernels, and cacao. Nigeria produces nearly half the world's supply of palm-oil and kernels, while Sierra Leone, Ghana the Ivory Coast, and the Guinea Republic, also yield considerable quantities
The climate of this part of west Africa is ideal for the cultivation of cacao, a product found on within 20 degrees of the Equator. Cacao requires great heat and moisture, but needs shelter from the winds, and shade to protect from excessive heat.
(2) The Plateau Region. The coast-lands rise steeply to the interim plateau, where the natural vegetation is of the savanna type. The Plateau nay be divided into
(a) the wooded grass-lands of the south, which receive heavy summer rains, and
(b) the semi-arid pastoral belt farther north, where the rainfall is deficient and the dry season lasts as long as nine months on the desert margin. The natural vegetation consists of bush with stretches of poor grassland, which withers up during the dry season. Vast tracts are inhabited by nomadic herdsmen.
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