In West Africa, the Dahomey Gap refers to the portion of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic that extends all the way to the coast in Benin, Togo and Ghana, thus separating the forest zone that covers much of the south of the region into two separate parts. West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. The Guinean forest-savanna mosaic is an Ecoregion of West Africa, consisting of interlaced Forest, Savanna, and Grassland, which divides Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company famous for inventing the Stand-up roller coaster. The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the This article refers to the forest zone of Western Africa For Brazilian "forest zones" see Zona da Mata. The forest region west of the gap is called the Upper Guinean forests or Guinean forest zone, and the portion east of the gap is called the Lower Guinean forests, Lower Guinean-Congolian forests, or Congolian Forest Zone. The Upper Guinean forests is a tropical moist forest region of West Africa. The Lower Guinean forests is region of coastal tropical moist broadleaf forest extending along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea from eastern Benin through
The major city in the Gap is Accra. Accra is the capital, and most populous city of Ghana. The city also doubles as the capital of the Greater Several other cities, such as Kumasi, exist on the fringe of the Gap. Kumasi is a City in southern central Ghana. It is located near the Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about 250 km (by road
Causes of dryness
The dryness of the Dahomey Gap is unusual, given that it lies surrounded by a very wet monsoon belt on all sides, and no mountains block moisture. A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months Yet, Accra in the heart of the Gap receives only 720 millimetres (28 inches) of rainfall per year — less than half the amount needed to sustain tropical rainforest (which would be expected at a latitude of 6° N).
The cause of the dryness of the Dahomey Gap can simply be explained thus:
- In northern winter, high pressure centred on the Sahara sends dry northeasterly trade winds over West Africa, creating a general dry season, including over the Gap. Winter is one of the four Seasons of Temperate zones Calculated astronomically, it begins on the Solstice and ends on the Equinox The Sahara (الصحراء الكبرى aṣ-ṣaḥrā´ al-kubra, "The Great Desert" is the world's largest hot Desert and the world's second largest The trade winds (also called trades) are the prevailing pattern of easterly winds found in the Tropics near the Earth's Equator.
- In northern summer, an enormous low pressure system known as the monsoon forms over the huge Africa-Asia-Europe landmass. Summer is one of the four Temperate Seasons Summer marks the warmest time of year with the longest days A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months Centred over approximately Rajasthan and prevented by the huge barrier of the Himalayas from moving further west, it extends a strong trough over West Africa. Rājasthān ( Devanāgarī: राजस्थान raːdʒəst̪ʰaːn is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area This trough sends warm and saturated westerly winds over West Africa, creating a wet season peaking in June on the coast (as the trough moves north) and in August inland.
- The coast in the region of the highest rainfall (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia) slopes from southeast to northwest. Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire This aspect means that the moist westerlies are forced to shed enormous quantities of moisture, allowing rainforest to thrive despite a distinct dry season. In Physical geography, aspect generally refers to the direction to which a Mountain slope faces The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the Tropics.
- In the Dahomey Gap, however, the coast slopes in such a way (northeast to southwest) that the rain-bearing westerlies flow parallel to the coast. This means they are not forced to give up nearly so much moisture, and thus the climate is much drier, with only a brief rainy season in May and June. Consequently, an open savanna prevails adopted to the moderate rainfall and high evaporation in the hot temperatures. A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem. Evaporation is the process by which Molecules in a Liquid state (e
Geological history
The Dahomey Gap has only existed in its present form for about four thousand years. For most of the Quaternary, dry conditions due to a much colder Atlantic Ocean (aided by extensive cold currents from ice sheets in Europe and North America) have meant that the present-day forest zone has supported very little or no rainforest. Overview The term Quaternary ("fourth" was proposed by Giovanni Arduino in 1759 for alluvial deposits in the Po river valley in northern In interglacial periods, however, rainfall throughout West Africa has often been so heavy that the Gap has become wet enough to support rainforest, thus eliminating the savanna. An interglacial is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature that separates Glacial periods within an Ice age.
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