NIGERIA. 307 



335,700 square miles, and a population of 17,250,000 people, or 

 51 to the square mile. 



1. Short Description of the Topography and Climate. 



The country may be divided into 4 main zones difiering in their 

 characteristics, namely : — 



(a) A belt of swamp and mangrove forest which follows the 



coastline and varies from 10 to 60 miles in width, including 



the delta of the Niger, and intersected by numerous rivers 



and creeks. 



(6) A belt of dense tropical forest from 50 to 100 miles broad, 



intersected by rivers and streams, and very rich in oil 



palm trees, which constitute at present the chief wealth 



of Nigeria. The ground is undulating with a few scattered 



hills, but there is no open ground except around villages 



and for farms. This belt changes gradually into (c). 



(c) A belt of more open country which gradually becomes 



clearer and parklike, being followed by open expanses 



covered with high grass. This zone is hilly. It is 



followed to the north by (d). 



{d) A vast undulating plateau at about 2,000 feet elevation 



with occasional hills of granite and sandstone rising to 



over 6,000 feet. The southern part of the plateau is 



covered with thin forest, but the country becomes more 



open towards the north, until at last the sandy tracts are 



reached which border on the Sahara. 



The main river of the country is, of course, the Niger. It rises 



to the north-east of Sierra Leone, and after flowing for hundreds 



of miles through French territory, enters Nigeria from the west, 



runs in a south-easterly direction, takes in the Benue, its principal 



tributary, at Lokoja, about 250 miles from the sea ; it then flows 



to the south until it reaches about 5| latitude, when it divides 



into numerous interlacing channels, which empty their waters 



into the Gulf of Guinea. Two other important tributaries, the 



Sokoto and Kaduna, join the Niger within Nigerian territory. 



The only other river of importance is the Cross, which enters the 



sea close to the eastern boundary. 



The Climate of Nigeria is not good, except perhaps on the 

 northern plateau ; hence, Europeans require a periodical return 



