Wum is a town and
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
. It is the
capital of
Menchum
Menchum is a department of Northwest Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4469 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 161,998. The capital of the department lies at Wum.
The Menchum River drains this area, flowing we ...
division in the
Northwest Province.
Geography
Wum is the third biggest town in the north west region of Cameroon. It lies on a plateau at an elevation of about 1100 m near the edge of the western highlands of Cameroon. It is north of the regional capital
Bamenda
Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is ...
(by dirt road). It lies near
Lake Wum, one of five small crater lakes within 15 km of the town in the hilly, volcanic landscape.
Lake Nyos
Lake Nyos ( ) is a crater lake in the Region of Cameroon, located about northwest of Yaoundé, the capital. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcanic activity ...
, a crater lake from which a
limnic eruption
A limnic eruption, also known as a lake overturn, is a very rare type of natural disaster in which dissolved carbon dioxide () suddenly erupts from deep lake waters, forming a gas cloud capable of suffocating wildlife, livestock, and humans. A lim ...
killed nearly 2,000 people in 1986, is 25 km to the east.
Population and language
In 2012 Wum's estimated population was 80,123 inhabitants.
The
Aghem language, spoken in Wum, is also called Wum.
Culture
File:Wum culture 4.jpg
File:Wum culture 11.jpg
File:Wum culture 5.jpg
File:Wum culture.jpg
File:Wum culture 7.jpg
File:Wum culture 3.jpg
File:Wum culture 10.jpg
File:Wum culture 6.jpg
File:Wum culture 8.jpg
References
External links
* Charles Nanga,
La réforme de l’administration territoriale au Cameroun à la lumière de la loi constitutionnelle n° 96/06 du 18 janvier 1996', Mémoire ENA.
Contrôle de gestion et performance des services publics communaux des villes camerounaises Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV
Populated places in Northwest Region (Cameroon)
Communes of Cameroon
{{Cameroon-geo-stub