5.4 West Africa

The region of West Africa includes the southern portion of the continent’s bulge, which extends westward to the Atlantic Ocean. This region is bisected by the African Transition Zone, which borders the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The main physical features include the Sahara Desert and the Niger River. The Cameroon Highlands is located on the eastern border between Nigeria and Cameroon. At 4,100 miles long, the Nile River is the longest, while the Congo River is Africa’s second-longest at 2,922 miles. The Niger River is Africa’s third-long river. It extends over 2,600 miles from the Guinea Highlands through Mali, Niger, and Nigeria before reaching the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea.

Some geographers include the country of Chad or portions of it within the region of West Africa. In this textbook, Chad is listed as Central Africa. The portions of Chad north of the African Transition Zone share similar characteristics with North Africa. Off the coast of Mauritania are the Cape Verde Islands, which are united as independent countries associated with Africa. Cape Verde was once a Portuguese colony but received its independence in 1975. Western Sahara has conflicted with Morocco over independence. It is most often associated with the region of North Africa because of Islam’s influence and its connection to Morocco.

The African Transition Zone cuts across West Africa, indicating a division between Islam and Christianity and between the Sahara Desert and the tropics. This diversity in religion and climate is usually exhibited with a north/south division. Islam is the dominant religion on the north side of the African Transition Zone; Christianity is more dominant in the south. The two religions often clash in the areas where they meet. Traditional beliefs and animist religions are also practiced in the African Transition Zone.