Geography of Togo

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Geography of Togo" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Togo is a small Sub-Saharan state, comprising a long strip of land in West Africa. Togo's geographic coordinates are a latitude of 8° north and a longitude of 1°10′ east. It is bordered by three countries: Benin to the east, with 644 km (400 mi) of border; Burkina Faso to the north, with 126 km (78 mi) of border; and Ghana, with 877 km (545 mi) of border. To the south Togo has 56 km (35 mi) of coastline along the Bight of Benin of the Gulf of Guinea in the North Atlantic Ocean. Togo stretches 579 km (360 mi) north from the Gulf and is only 160 km (99 mi) wide at the broadest point. In total, Togo has an area of 56,785 km² (21,925 sq mi), of which 54,385 km² (20,998 sq mi) is land and 2,400 km² (927 sq mi) is water.

Area comparative

• Australia comparative: approximately 5/6 the size of Tasmania
• Canada comparative: approximately equal in size to Nova Scotia
• United Kingdom comparative: approximately four times the size of Northern Ireland
• United States comparative: approximately 1/10 smaller than West Virginia
• EU comparative: approximately equal in size to Croatia

Land use

• Natural resources:
  phosphates, limestone, marble
  , arable land
• Land use:
  • arable land: 44.2%
  • permanent crops: 3.7%
  • other: 52.1% (2011)
• Irrigated land: 73 km² (2003)
• Total renewable water resources: 14.7 km²
• Natural hazards: hot, dry Harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts.

Physical geography

The country consists primarily of two

Northeast of the Ouatchi Plateau lies a tableland. At its highest this region is about 500 metres (1,640 ft) above sea level. The area is drained by the Mono River and its tributaries, including the Ogou River.

To the west and the southwest of the tableland lie the

In the far northwest of Togo lies a higher region which is characterized by its rocks: granite and gneiss. The cliffs of Dapaong (Dapango) are located in this part of Togo.

100km
62miles

G

h

a

n

a

B

e

n

i

n

B

i

g

h

t

o

f

B

e

n

i

n

B u r k i n a F a s o

M a r i t i m e

P l a t e a u x

C e n t r a l e

K a r a

S a v a n e s

Fazao Malfakassa
National Park

Oti-Kéran
National Park

Fosse aux Lions
National Park

Mango

Sokodé

Mt Agou

  

Map of Togo. The five Regions of Togo span its climatic zones from the coastal equatorial climate of the south to the tropical savanna at the north. Data for Lomé, Sokodé and Mango are shown in the climate tables

Climate

Almost all of Togo has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). Average temperatures ranging from 27.5 °C (81.5 °F) on the coast to about 30 °C (86 °F) in the northernmost regions. There is a dry season between November and March dominated by the desert winds of the Harmattan, which bring less humid and less unpleasant weather. To the south there are two seasons of rain, the first between April and July and the second weaker rainy season between September and November. In this region rainfall is much lower than in the rest of southern West Africa due to divergent coast-parallel winds between mid-July and mid-September creating a short, foggy secondary dry season.^[1]

Environment

Current issues:

• deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel
• health hazards and impact on the fishing industry from water pollution
• air pollution increasing in urban areas

Togo is party to:

This is a list of the extreme points of Togo, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

• Northernmost point – the tripoint with Ghana and Burkina Faso, Savanes Region
• Easternmost point – unnamed location on the border with
  Maritime Region
• Southernmost point – the point at which the border with Ghana enters the Atlantic Ocean, Maritime Region
• Westernmost point - a point about 2.5 km south-southwest of the tripoint with Ghana and Burkina Faso, Savanes Region

References