Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, is officially the Republic of Côte
d'Ivoire. It is compared to be about the same size as Germany. [1] Ivory
Coast’s capital is Yamoussoukro. Abidjan is the biggest city in Ivory Coast. [2] Abidjan has a population of 4,677,155. [3] Ivory
Coast borders Liberia and Guinea to the west, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north,
Ghana to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Ivory Coast lies between
latitudes 4 and 11 degrees N, and longitudes 2 and 9 degrees W. [4] The
typical climate of Ivory Coast is warm and humid. It has three seasons: warm
and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), and hot and wet (June
to October). The average temperature is between 77 and 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit
and range from 50 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. [5]
There are four major rivers that flow through Ivory Coast at some point. The
Cavally River, the Sassandra River Basin, the Bandama River, and the Comoé. Some large dams were built
in the 1960s and 1970s to control the flow of water in the major rivers to the
south. [6] “Ivory
Coast’s terrain can generally be described as a large plateau rising gradually
from sea level in the south to almost 500 m elevation in the north.”[7]
Ivory
Coast also has some mountain ranges, lowland forests, and forest-savanna mosaic
(forest, savanna and grassland habitats).[8] The
large amount of forests allowed Ivory Coast to have a large timber industry.[9] The
many rivers in the country would allow for transportation and ways to travel. Some
negative features would be the heavy surf and lack of natural harbors;
especially during the rainy season when flooding becomes a danger.[10]
“Nine percent of the country is arable land. Ivory Coast is the world’s largest
producer of cocoa, a major national cash crop.”[11]
Disease and health wise, the HIV/AIDS rate was 19th-highest in the
world, estimated in 2012 at 3.20% among adults aged 15-49 years.” [12]
[1] “Geography
of Ivory Coast” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ivory_Coast
[3] “Largest
cities” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_Coast#Geography
[6] “Major
Rivers” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_Ivory_Coast
[7] “Terrain
and topography” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ivory_Coast
[8] “Terrain
and topography” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ivory_Coast
[9] “Crops
and natural resources” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ivory_Coast
[10] “Natural
hazards” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ivory_Coast
[11] “Crops
and natural resources” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ivory_Coast
