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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Ivory Coast
Index
The northern half of the nation is generally
characterized as
savanna--a large plateau consisting primarily of rolling
hills,
low-lying vegetation, and scattered trees. Vegetation
varies from
woodlands to grasslands and occasional patches of dry
scrub in the
far north. Some narrow strips of forest extend toward the
north
along watercourses and drainage lines. The southern
portion of the
savanna is sometimes referred to as the transition zone
(zone de
transition) and the northern portion as the sudanic
zone
(zone soudanienne), although the entire region is
transitional between the narrow belt of forest paralleling
the
coastline and the Sahara Desert. The gently rolling plains
are
broken occasionally by granite domes or small hill masses,
the most
extensive being the Komonos Hills. In the northwest, a
number of
peaks exceeds 800 meters elevation.
A major divide extends across the northeastern corner
of Côte
d'Ivoire near Burkina Faso, separating the main southward
drainage
system from the Volta River Basin, which drains to the
north. Near
Bondoukou, where the divide crosses the Ghana border, Mt.
Bowé de
Kiendi reaches 725 meters elevation. In the north, Mt.
Yélévé
reaches an altitude of 685 meters.
Data as of November 1988
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