Cameroon GCE A-Level Geography flashcards

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Cameroon Volcanic Line

A 1,600 km intraplate chain of Cenozoic volcanoes and plutonic rocks running NE–SW from Lake Chad through Mount Cameroon to Bioko, associated with a hotline or reactivated shear zone rather than a plate boundary.

Mount Cameroon

An active stratovolcano reaching 4,095 m, the highest point in West and Central Africa, with recorded eruptions including 1999, 2000 and 2012 that affected Buea, Limbe and surrounding plantations.

Limnic eruption

A sudden release of dissolved CO2 from a deep crater lake that forms a dense, suffocating cloud; the 1986 Lake Nyos event killed about 1,700 people and was later mitigated by controlled degassing pipes.

Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun

Two crater lakes on the Cameroon Volcanic Line that released lethal CO2 clouds in 1986 and 1984 respectively, both fed by magmatic gas seepage and now fitted with degassing installations.

Intertropical Convergence Zone

The migrating belt where trade winds converge; its northward passage brings Cameroon's northern single rainy season, while its movement produces the south's double rainfall maximum.

Equatorial climate of Douala

A hot, humid climate with rainfall often exceeding 2,500 mm a year, small annual temperature range, high humidity and two rainy seasons separated by shorter dry periods.

Adamawa Plateau

A highland region at roughly 1,000–1,500 m separating the forested southern lowlands from the northern savanna, acting as a climatic and drainage divide within Cameroon.

Ferralitic soils

Deeply weathered, heavily leached tropical soils rich in iron and aluminium oxides, common in southern Cameroon; they are acidic, low in bases and need fertiliser or fallowing for sustained cultivation.

Volcanic soils of Mount Cameroon

Young, base-rich and fertile soils developed on lava and ash, supporting dense banana, rubber and palm plantations on the wet windward slopes near Limbe and Buea.

Sanaga River

Cameroon's longest river, rising on the Adamawa Plateau and flowing southwest to the Atlantic; it supplies hydroelectric power at Edéa and supports fishing and irrigation.

Wouri estuary

The tidal mangrove estuary on which Douala's port stands; it provides sheltered deep-water access but suffers pollution, siltation and pressure from urban and industrial growth.

Korup National Park

A lowland rainforest reserve in southwest Cameroon noted for high plant endemism and primate diversity, used as a case study in conservation versus logging and agricultural encroachment.

Dja Faunal Reserve

A UNESCO World Heritage rainforest reserve in southern Cameroon, important for gorillas, chimpanzees and forest elephants, and a focus of community-based conservation and logging conflicts.

Waza National Park

A Sudan-Sahel savanna park in the Far North of Cameroon, known for elephants, giraffes and antelope; it illustrates pressures from poaching, pastoralist grazing and drought.

Cameroon population distribution

Population of roughly 27–28 million is unevenly spread: dense in the humid south, western highlands and urban Douala–Yaoundé, sparse in the Adamawa and the dry Far North.

Bamenda Highlands

A dissected volcanic highland in northwest Cameroon with fertile soils, dense rural population, severe soil erosion and landslides on steep cultivated slopes.

Cameroon development corridor

The Douala–Yaoundé–Ngaoundéré axis concentrating ports, industry, roads and rail; it contrasts with poorly connected peripheral regions such as the east and the Far North.

Douala port functions

Cameroon's main seaport and industrial hub, handling most external trade including cocoa, timber and cotton exports, and serving as a transit gateway for Chad and the Central African Republic.

Cocoa in Cameroon

A leading export crop grown mainly in the Centre and South-West by smallholders; output fluctuates with ageing trees, disease, price swings and weak extension support.

Transhumance in the north

Seasonal movement of cattle between dry-season pastures and wet-season grazing in the Adamawa and Far North; it creates farmer–herder conflicts over land and water.

Shifting cultivation

A rotational system where plots are cleared, cropped for a few years and then fallowed to restore fertility; shortened fallows in southern Cameroon now cause soil degradation.

Sahel drought vulnerability

The Far North's single short rainy season and high rainfall variability make it prone to drought, crop failure, food insecurity and southward migration of pastoralists.

Deforestation drivers in Cameroon

Logging, fuelwood collection, agricultural expansion, cocoa planting and infrastructure such as roads and dams drive forest loss, especially in the south and east.

Landslides on escarpments

Steep slopes, deep weathered regolith and intense rainfall make the Bamenda and Adamawa escarpments prone to landslides, worsened by deforestation and cultivation.

Coastal erosion at Limbe

Wave action, sand mining and port and dam construction disrupt sediment supply along the Cameroon coast, causing shoreline retreat and damage to settlements and roads.

Edéa hydroelectric scheme

A dam on the Sanaga River supplying much of Cameroon's electricity; low reservoir levels in dry years cause power shortages that constrain industry in Douala.

Cameroon's climatic belts

From south to north: equatorial, tropical humid, tropical highland and Sudan-Sahel types, each defined by rainfall totals, seasonality and annual temperature range.

Mangrove ecosystems

Salt-tolerant forests fringing the Wouri and other estuaries; they stabilise mudflats, support fisheries and are threatened by urban expansion, fuelwood cutting and sand extraction.

Mount Cameroon eruption hazards

Lava flows, ash fall, volcanic gases and lahars threaten farms and towns on the volcano's flanks; monitoring and evacuation planning are the main mitigation measures.

Cash crop versus food crop

Cash crops such as cocoa, coffee and cotton are grown for sale and export, while food crops such as cassava, maize and plantain feed households; many farmers grow both.

Cameroon's regional inequality

The Far North, North and East lag behind the Centre and Littoral in income, schooling and infrastructure, reflecting colonial transport patterns, climate risk and conflict.

ITCZ and rainfall seasonality

The ITCZ's northward migration in March–June and southward retreat in September–November produce the southern double maximum and the northern single wet season in Cameroon.