TheGuinea Highlands is a densely forested mountainous plateau extending from centralGuinea through northernSierra Leone andLiberia to westernIvory Coast. The highlands include a number of mountains, ranges and plateaus, including theFouta Djallon highlands in central Guinea, theLoma Mountains in Sierra Leone, theSimandou and Kourandou massifs in southeastern Guinea, theNimba Range at the border of Guinea, Liberia, and Ivory Coast, and theMonts du Toura in western Ivory Coast.
In Guinea they are known asDorsale Guinéenne. The highest peak in the region isMount Bintumani in Sierra Leone, at 1,945 metres (6,381 ft). Other peaks includeSankan Biriwa (1,850 metres (6,070 ft)) in Sierra Leone andMount Richard-Molard (Mount Nimba) (1,752 metres (5,748 ft)) on the border of Guinea and Ivory Coast. The highlands mostly lie between 300 and 500 metres (980 and 1,640 ft) above sea level.[1]
The Guinea Highlands are the source of many of West Africa's rivers, including theNiger River, West Africa's longest river, theSenegal andGambia rivers, and the rivers ofSierra Leone,Liberia,Maritime Guinea, and western Ivory Coast.
Geologically the composition of the sediments in the highlands are the same as inUpper Guinea and includegranites,schists, andquartzites.[2]
The Guinea Highlands form the transition between theWestern Guinean lowland forests, moist tropical rainforests that lie to the south between the Guinea Highlands and the Atlantic Ocean, and theGuinean forest-savanna mosaic to the north.
TheGuinean montane forests ecoregion covers the portion of the highlands above 600 meters elevation. It includes montane forests, grasslands, and savannas, with a distinct flora and fauna from the surrounding lowlands.
Yomou is the chief market town for the densely forested region of the Guinea Highlands. Main commodities sold in the town includerice,cassava,coffee,palm oil andkernels.[3] The region is mainly inhabited by the Guerze (Kpelle) and Mano (Manon) peoples.
