Northern Part Of Senegal example essay topic
454 words
Land and Resources: Most of Senegal's country is consisting of plains, which lie below about 330 feet. The elevations rise to about 1640 feet; this however is only present in the far southeast in the foothills of the Fout a Djallon. Senegal also contains 3 main rivers. Senegal which forms the northern boundary, and the Gambia, Salou m, and Casamance. Climate: Most parts of Senegal alternate between a dry desert climate and a hot moist tropical climate in the south. The rain season in this country last from about July to October in the North with the average amount of rainfall being 14 inches, and from June to October with the average rainfall being 60 inches in the south. The Temperatures falling on the cost range near 22 c in January to 28 c in July. Vegetation and wild life: The Northern part of Senegal is part of the Sahel, a zone of transition between the northern Sahara and the wet regions to the South. Vegetation consists much of Savanna grass with scatters of trees and shrubs. Vegetation in the south towards the Gambia river consist of many trees and farther south from that is mainly mangrove swamps and dance oil forest, Mahogany, bamboo, and teak. Wildlife there is diverse, larger animals however such as elephants, cheetahs, lions, and Antelope are found more towards the less populated eastern half of the country.
Crocodiles and Hippopotamuses are found in most rivers. Senegal also contains a variety of snakes such as the Cobra, and Boa constrictor. Mineral Resources: Senegal's most exploited mineral source is found near Thie's it contains that of mined Phosphates. Also in the late 1970's petroleum and natural gas was discovered off Senegal's shores. Large deposits of Iron were also discovered but not mined because of their remoteness. Agriculture: Agriculture provides jobs for over 70% of Senegal's labor force.
The crops are closely tied in with the seasons and amount of rainfall. Crops in the northern part of the country are prone to the effects of rain and droughts. Two different types of agriculture are taken up in Senegal. On depends primarily on the flooding of low level land from run off.
This type of farming is found mainly in the south in which much is consisting of rice crop. The second type is the flood recessional agriculture, which depends highly on the Senegal River where water is available year round. Agriculture is important here mainly in the dry areas where crops such as peanuts are grown. Peanut are a main cash crop in Senegal and provide much income.
