Geography of Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) is a sub-Saharan nation in southern West Africa located at 8° N, 5° W. The country is approximately square in shape.

Ivory Coast makes maritime claims of 200 nautical miles (370 km) as an exclusive economic zone, 12 nautical miles (22 km) of territorial sea, and a 200-nautical-mile (370 km) continental shelf.

Ivory Coast's terrain can generally be described as a large plateau rising gradually from sea level in the south to almost 500 m (1,600 ft) elevation in the north. The nation's natural resources have made it a comparatively prosperous nation in the African economy. The southeastern region of Ivory Coast is marked by coastal inland lagoons that start at the Ghanaian border and stretch 300 km (190 mi) along the eastern half of the coast. The southern region, especially the southwest, is covered with dense tropical moist forest. The Eastern Guinean forests extend from the Sassandra River across the south-central and southeast portion of Ivory Coast and east into Ghana, while the Western Guinean lowland forests extend west from the Sassandra River into Liberia and southeastern Guinea. The mountains of Dix-Huit Montagnes region, in the west of the country near the border with Guinea and Liberia, are home to the Guinean montane forests.

The Guinean forest-savanna mosaic belt extends across the middle of the country from east to west, and is the transition zone between the coastal forests and the interior savannas. The forest-savanna mosaic interlaces forest, savanna and grassland habitats. Northern Ivory Coast is part of the West Sudanian Savanna ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. It is a zone of lateritic or sandy soils, with vegetation decreasing from south to north.

The terrain is mostly flat to undulating plain, with mountains in the northwest. The lowest elevation is at sea level on the coast. The highest elevation is Mount Nimba, at 1,752 metres (5,748 ft) in the far west of the country along the border with Guinea and Liberia.

The Cavalla River drains the western border area of the Ivory Coast and eastern Liberia. It forms the southern two-thirds of the border between Liberia and Ivory Coast.

The Sassandra River forms in the Guinea highlands and drains much of the western part of the Ivory Coast east of the Cavalla River.

The Bandama River is the longest river in the Ivory Coast, with a length of some 800 km (500 mi), draining the east central part of the country. In 1973 the Kossou Dam was constructed at Kossou on the Bandama, creating Lake Kossou. The capital, Yamoussoukro, is located near the river south of the lake.