 | |
| Continent | Africa |
|---|---|
| Region | WesternAfrica |
| Coordinates | 08°30′00″N12°06′00″W / 8.50000°N 12.10000°W /8.50000; -12.10000 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 73,252 km2 (28,283 sq mi) |
| • Land | 99.8% |
| • Water | 0.2% |
| Coastline | 402[1] km (250 mi) |
| Highest point | Mount Bintumani 1,948 meters (6,391 ft)[1] |
| Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean 0m |
| Longest river | Rokel River 400 km (250 mi)[2] |
| Largest lake | Lake Sonfon 8.2 km2 (3.2 sq mi)[3] |
| Climate | tropical |
| Terrain | coastal belt ofmangrove swamps, wooded hill country, an uplandplateau, mountains in the east[1] |
| Natural resources | mineral deposits (diamonds,titanium ore,bauxite, iron ore, gold,chromite)[1] |
| Natural hazards | dry, sand-ladenHarmattan winds blow from theSahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms[1] |
| Environmental issues | rapid population growth;deforestation from increased cattle grazing and agriculture,land degradation and flooding;biodiversity loss; air and water pollution; overfishing[1] |
Sierra Leone is a country inWest Africa with aNorth Atlantic Oceancoastline to the west. It lies on theAfrican Plate. The country's maingeographical features include wooded hill country, an uplandplateau, and mountains in the east. The highest peak isMount Bintumani, which is 1,948 meters (6,391 ft) above sea level. The coastline has a belt ofmangrove swamps. Freetown, the nation's capital city, has one of the world's largest natural harbours.[4] TheRokel River is the largest river in Sierra Leone. It is 400 kilometres (250 mi) long and has a basin with a total area of 10,622 square kilometres (4,101 sq mi).
Sierra Leone is located at approximately8°30′N12°06′W / 8.5°N 12.1°W /8.5; -12.1, between the7th and10th parallels north of theequator. It is bordered byGuinea to the north and northeast, andLiberia to the south and southeast.[5] The country has a total area of 73,252 km2 (28,283 sq mi), divided into a land area of 73,132 km2 (28,236 sq mi) and water of 120 km2 (46 sq mi).[1]
Sierra Leone is located on the west coast of Africa, between the7th and10th parallels north of theequator. Sierra Leone is bordered byGuinea to the north and northeast,Liberia to the south and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.[5] The country has a total area of 73,253 km2 (28,283 sq mi), divided into a land area of 73,132 km2 (28,236 sq mi) and water of 120 km2 (46 sq mi).[1]
Sierra Leone has four distinct geographical regions: coastalGuinean mangroves, the wooded hill country, an uplandplateau, and the eastern mountains. Eastern Sierra Leone is an interior region of large plateaus interspersed with high mountains, whereMount Bintumani rises to 1,948 meters (6,391 ft).[5]
Sierra Leone can be split into three geological areas, in the east is part of theWest African craton, the western area consists of the Rokelides, anorogenic belt, and a 20- to 30-km coastal strip ofsediments.[6]
This is a list of the extreme points of Sierra Leone, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
Theclimate istropical; although it could be classified as atropical monsoon climate, it could also be described as a climate that is transitional between a continually wettropical rainforest climate and atropical savanna climate.[7]
There are two seasons; dry season (November – May) and rainy season (June – October).
December to January are the coolest months of the year, although temperatures can still exceed 40 °C or 104 °F, lower to moderate humidity makes the heat around this time of the year more tolerable. Unlike March and April, the months that it gets hot and humid with temperatures around 33 to 36 °C or 91 to 97 °F and a solid 50% humidity, making the heat index higher than the actual temperature. The average sea temperature is 30 °C or 86 °F.[1][8][9]
Average rainfall is highest at the coast, 3,000 to 5,000 millimetres or 120 to 200 inches per year; moving inland this decreases and at the eastern border of the country, the average rainfall is 2,000 to 2,500 millimetres or 80 to 100 inches.[10]
| Climate data for Freetown, Sierra Leone (1961-1990, extremes 1947-1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.0 (96.8) | 38.0 (100.4) | 38.0 (100.4) | 38.5 (101.3) | 35.0 (95.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.0 (91.4) | 32.0 (89.6) | 31.0 (87.8) | 35.0 (95.0) | 36.5 (97.7) | 33.5 (92.3) | 38.5 (101.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.9 (85.8) | 30.3 (86.5) | 30.9 (87.6) | 31.2 (88.2) | 30.9 (87.6) | 30.1 (86.2) | 28.7 (83.7) | 28.4 (83.1) | 29.0 (84.2) | 29.9 (85.8) | 30.1 (86.2) | 29.7 (85.5) | 29.9 (85.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.6 (81.7) | 28.1 (82.6) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.4 (81.3) | 26.3 (79.3) | 25.9 (78.6) | 26.4 (79.5) | 27.1 (80.8) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.3 (81.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.8 (74.8) | 24.0 (75.2) | 24.4 (75.9) | 24.8 (76.6) | 24.4 (75.9) | 23.6 (74.5) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.0 (73.4) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.4 (74.1) | 24.0 (75.2) | 24.1 (75.4) | 23.8 (74.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.8 (64.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 20.0 (68.0) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.0 (68.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 19.4 (66.9) | 20.0 (68.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 20.0 (68.0) | 15.6 (60.1) | 15.0 (59.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 8.0 (0.31) | 6.0 (0.24) | 28.0 (1.10) | 68.0 (2.68) | 214.0 (8.43) | 522.0 (20.55) | 1,190 (46.85) | 1,078 (42.44) | 800.0 (31.50) | 333.0 (13.11) | 148.0 (5.83) | 38.0 (1.50) | 4,433 (174.54) |
| Average rainy days | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 22 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 21 | 9 | 2 | 152 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 66 | 67 | 67 | 68 | 73 | 76 | 81 | 82 | 80 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 74 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 226.3 | 215.6 | 232.5 | 207.0 | 189.1 | 153.0 | 102.3 | 86.8 | 126.0 | 186.0 | 198.0 | 161.2 | 2,083.8 |
| Source 1: NOAA,[11][12]Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes),[13] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System[14] | |||||||||||||
Rapid population growth in Sierra Leone has put pressure upon the natural environment. Environmental problems include theoverharvesting of timber, the expansion of cattle grazing andslash and burn agriculture have resulted indeforestation and soil exhaustion, andoverfishing.
Sierra Leone is party to several environmental agreements:[1]
Signed, but not ratified:
Geographic coordinates:8°30′N11°30′W / 8.500°N 11.500°W /8.500; -11.500
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