Nigeria's equatorial position gives it its tropical climate but this doesn't mean a single environment. Vegetation varies as greatly as the landscapes between the north and south: from savannah to dense thick forests with gigantic trees.

Nigeria consists of four major natural zones: a 600-km coastal area in the south indented by lagoons and by the immense Niger River Delta; forest-covered mountains in the west and east; the Jos Plateau (4,000 feet) in the centre, culminating at Shere hill, 1,780 metres (5,800 feet); the Highlands along the eastern border, which rise to 2,040 metres (6,693 feet) at Vogel Peak, south of the Benue River; and the plain of Sokoto and the Lake Chad Basin, which forms part of the Sahel region, and is semi desert. The River Niger with its tributary, the Benue, forms a large 'Y' across Nigeria.

Landscapes from ancient eras

The country harbours a remarkable sample of the different landscapes found in West Africa. Its geology is made up of a large number of base rocks of diverse origins, from plinths to sedimentary rocks. The 600-million-year-old plinths outcrop from Benin to Lokoja and from Ogoja to the mountains of Cameroon and cover more than half of the country to the north of the Niger and the Benue. The landscape associated with these "older" granites is mainly narrow and deep valleys and pediments (surfaces made smooth by erosion) from the middle of which rise rounded hills with sheer rock faces. These are interspersed with "younger" granites of about 160 million years old. Young granite makes up the unusual scenery of the Jos Plateau: numerous hillocks with gentle slopes emerging from the ground like mushrooms. There are also numerous volcanoes and vast basaltic plateaus from lava flow, due to volcanic activity 50 million years ago. In the south, a tropical, mangrove-type sedimentation has superimposed itself on the Niger Delta, giving a swampy aspect to this region.

A tropical climate

Nigeria has a tropical climate with relatively high temperatures throughout the year-average annual average maxima vary from 35°C in the north to 31°C in the south. There are two distinct seasons, the rainy season from April to October with a short dry spell in August and dry season from November to March, broken by a 4 - 5 week interlude during which the "harmattan," a sand-laden wind from the desert, blows. Rainfall ranges from an average of 380cm (150 inches) at Forcados on the coast, to under 65cm (25 inches) at Maiduguri in the northeast.