Yorubaland Cultural Area Of West Africa

Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km² or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this land area, 106,016 km² (74.6%) lies within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and the remaining 6.5% is in Togo. Prior to European colonization, a portion of this area was known as Yoruba country. The geo-cultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the majority of this population being ethnic Yorubas.

Geography

Geo-physically, Yorubaland spreads north from the Gulf of Guinea and west from the Niger River into Benin and Togo. In the northern section, Yorubaland begins in the suburbs just west of Lokoja and continues unbroken up to the Ogooué River tributary of the Mono River in Togo, a distance of around 610 km. In the south, it begins in an area just west of the Benin and Osse (Ovia) river occupied by the Ilaje Yorubas and continues uninterrupted up to Porto Novo, a total distance of about 280 km as the crow flies. West of Porto Novo Gbe speakers begin to predominate. The northern section is thus more expansive than the southern coastal section.

The land is characterised by mangrove forests, estuaries and coastal plains in the south, which rise steadily northwards into rolling hills and a jagged highland region in the interior, commonly known as the ''Yorubaland plateau'' or ''Western upland''. The highlands are pronounced in the Ekiti area of the region, especially around the Effon ridge and the Okemesi fold belt, which have heights in excess of 732 m (2,400 ft) and are characterized by numerous waterfalls and springs such as Olumirin waterfall, Arinta waterfall, and Effon waterfall. The highest elevation is found at the Idanre Inselberg Hills, which have heights in excess of 1,050 meters. In general, the landscape of the interior is undulating land with occasional inselbergs jutting out dramatically from the surrounding rolling landscape. Some include: Okeagbe hills: 790m, Olosunta in Ikere Ekiti: 690m, Saki inselbergs, and Igbeti hill.

With coastal plains, southern lowlands, and interior highlands, Yorubaland has several large rivers and streams that crisscross the terrain. These rivers flow in two general directions within the Yoruba country; southwards into the lagoons, estuaries and creeks which empty into the Atlantic ocean, and northwards into the Niger river. Some southward flowing rivers include; The Osun and Shasha rivers which empty into the Lekki Lagoon, the Ogun River which empties into the Lagos Lagoon, the upper Mono River, Oba River, Erinle River, Yewa River which discharges into the Badagry creek, Okpara River which forms part of the Nigeria-Benin border and drains into the Porto-Novo lagoon, and the Ouémé River which drains into Lake Nokoué. On the eastern flank, the Owena (Siluko), Ofosu and Ose rivers empty into the Benin river creek. Those which flow in a northerly direction into the Niger

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