The Guinea Highlands is a densely forested mountainous plateau extending from central

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

through northern

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

and

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

to western

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. The highlands include a number of mountains, ranges and plateaus, including the

Fouta Djallon Fouta Djallon ( ff, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅, Fuuta Jaloo; ar, فوتا جالون) is a Highland (geography), highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Ful ...

highlands in central Guinea, the

Loma Mountains The Loma Mountains are the highest mountain range in Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surround ...

in Sierra Leone, the

Simandou Simandou is a range of hills located in the Nzérékoré and Kankan regions of southeastern Guinea, in the country's mountainous, forested ''Guinée Forestière'' region. At the southern end of the range the site of a large iron ore deposit i ...

and Kourandou massifs in southeastern Guinea, the

Nimba Range The Nimba Range forms part of the southern extent of the Guinea Highlands. The highest peak is Mount Richard-Molard on the border of Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, at 1,752 m (5,750 ft). "Mount Nimba" may refer either to Mount Richard-Mola ...

at the border of Guinea, Liberia, and Ivory Coast, and the

Monts du Toura The Monts du Toura, also known as the Toura Mountains, are a range of mountains rising to 1300 metres in elevation, extending westward across Côte d’Ivoire from the Sassandra River to the border with Liberia and Guinea. Mont Nimba, at the weste ...

in western Ivory Coast.

Geography

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve-123989

In Guinea they are known as ''Dorsale Guinéenne''. The highest peak in the region is Mount Bintumani in Sierra Leone, at 1,945 metres (6,381 ft). Other peaks include Sankan Biriwa () in Sierra Leone and

Mount Richard-Molard Mount Richard-Molard, also known as Mount Nimba, is a mountain along the border of Ivory Coast and Guinea in West Africa. The highest peak for both countries and the Nimba Range is at . The mountain is a part of the Guinea Highlands, which straddl ...

(Mount Nimba) () on the border of Guinea and Ivory Coast. The highlands mostly lie between above sea level. The Guinea Highlands are the source of many of West Africa's rivers, including the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

, West Africa's longest river, the

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

and

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

rivers, and the rivers of

Maritime Guinea Maritime Guinea (), also known as Lower Guinea, is one of the four natural regions of Guinea. It is located in the west of the country, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Fouta Djallon plateau. Conakry, Guinea's capital and largest city, is located ...

, and western Ivory Coast.

Geology

Geologically the composition of the sediments in the highlands are the same as in

Upper Guinea Upper Guinea is a geographical term used in several contexts: # Upper Guinea (french: Haute-Guinée) is one of the four geographic regions of the Republic of Guinea, being east of Futa Jalon, north of Forest Guinea, and bordering Mali. The popula ...

and include

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

s, and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

Ecology

The Guinea Highlands form the transition between the

Western Guinean lowland forests The Western Guinean lowland forests ecoregion (WWF #AT0130) is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. It is centered on Liberia, with portions in surrounding countries. It is the westernmost tropical rainforest in Africa, an ...

, moist tropical rainforests that lie to the south between the Guinea Highlands and the Atlantic Ocean, and the

Guinean forest-savanna mosaic Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

to the north. The

Guinean montane forests The Guinean montane forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. The ecoregion occupies the portions of the Guinea Highlands lying above 600 meters elevation, extending across portions of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia ...

ecoregion covers the portion of the highlands above 600 meters elevation. It includes montane forests, grasslands, and savannas, with a distinct flora and fauna from the surrounding lowlands.

People

Yomou Yomou ( N’ko: ߦߏ߭ߡߎ߲߬) is a town located in southeastern Guinea. It is the capital of Yomou Prefecture. It has an estimated population of 29,138 (2008) growing from 9,661 (1996).rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

and

kernels Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

.Encyclopædia Britannica
Retrieved on June 18, 2008 The region is mainly inhabited by the Guerze ( Kpelle) and Mano (Manon) peoples.

Peaks

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve-108445

* Mount Bintumani (Loma Mansa), Sierra Leone, 1945 meters (6381 feet) * Sankan Biriwa, Sierra Leone, 1,850 metres (6,070 ft) *

, also known as Mount Nimba, Ivory Coast and Guinea, 1752 meters (5748 feet) * Grand Rochers, Guinea, 1694 meters (5558 feet) * Mont Sempéré, Guinea, 1682 meters (5518 feet) * Mont Tô, Guinea, 1675 meters (5495 feet) * Mont Piérré Richaud, Guinea, 1670 meters (5479 feet) * Pic de Fon, Guinea, 1658 meters (5440 feet) * Mont LeClerc, Guinea, 1577 meters (5174 feet) * Pic de Tibé, Guinea, 1504 meters (4934 feet) *

Mount Wuteve Mount Wuteve is a mountain located in Liberia, whose summit is the highest point in Liberia. It is located in the Guinea Highlands range, whose parent range is the West Africa Mountains. Data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission T ...

, Liberia, 1420 meters (4659 feet) * Pic de Tétini, Guinea 1257 meters * Kourandou Massif, Guinea, 1236 meters * Béro Massif, Guinea, 1210 meters

References

{{WikidataCoord, display=t Mountains of Guinea Mountains of Liberia Mountains of Sierra Leone Mountains of Ivory Coast Highlands