﻿RESEARCH IN BRITISH WEST AFRICA. 165 



(b) The Central Province. 



Owing to the irregular shape of the colony, this Province is situated to the 

 south-east of the Western Province. It extends inland from the Bight of Benin 

 to the Provinces of Kabba and Bassa in Northern Nigeria, and is bounded on the 

 east by the Eastern Province of Southern Nigeria. Its area is roughly about 

 21,000 square miles and it is therefore slightly smaller than the Western 

 Province ; the total population is approximately 2,000,000. 



The physical configuration is far from uniform, and four distinct types may be 

 observed. In the north, but more especially in the north-west, the geological 

 formation is igneous ; the country is slightly elevated, consisting of a series of 

 plateaux, rounded hills and ridges, and thus forms a continuation of the type to 

 be found in the north-west portion of the Western Province and the southern 

 parts of Northern Nigeria. 



The second type of formation occupies by far the largest area in the Province, 

 and consists of a sandy stratum of considerable depth, apparently formed from 

 the debris of the igneous rocks. Boulders and stones are absent, and the colour 

 of the soil is light and reddish. 



More recent in formation is the alluvial deposit, consisting of sand with over- 

 lying strata of mud, to be found in the valley of the Niger ; while along the 

 coast is the great mangrove belt, in some parts over thirty miles in width. This 

 area is intersected by the numerous mouths of the river and is being gradually 

 built up by a deposit of silt brought down from the higher reaches and bound 

 together by a dense growth of mangroves. 



The nature of the vegetation varies in accordance with the different types of 

 country described. In the delta the mangrove holds exclusive sway, while further 

 up the river, and in the valleys where the air is more humid, there is a dense 

 forest belt consisting of moderately large trees, thick low scrub and a tangled, 

 impenetrable network of lianes and creepers. Further from the river are to be 

 seen large trees with little undergrowth, while in the north-east and north-west 

 the forest is of a deciduous type, and the country is consequently orchard-like 

 and open. Scattered about in this last area are extensive stretches of tall 

 elephant grass. 



The main water-way in the Central Province is the Niger, the upper reaches 

 of which I have described in a previous report.* This river enters Southern 

 Nigeria near Idah and flows practically due south to Abo, where it breaks up into 

 innumerable branches, some of which flow through the Central, and others 

 through the Eastern Province, the whole forming the extensive region known as 

 the Niger delta. 



In the upper reaches it receives a considerable number of small tributaries. 

 On the left bank the only one of any great importance is the Anambra River, 

 which rises in Bassa Province in Northern Nigeria, and after flowing in a 

 southerly direction enters the Niger near Onitsha. On the right bank the 

 largest tributary is the Aseh River, which joins the Niger near Abo. 



* Bull. Ent. Res, II, pt. 4, pp. 315-318. 



