Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

is a small Sub-Saharan state, comprising a long strip of land in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. Togo's geographic coordinates are a

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

of 8° north and a

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

of 1°10′ east. It is bordered by three countries:

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

to the east, with of border;

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

to the north, with of border; and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, with of border. To the south Togo has of coastline along the

Bight of Benin The Bight of Benin or Bay of Benin is a bight in the Gulf of Guinea area on the western African coast that derives its name from the historical Kingdom of Benin. Geography It extends eastward for about from Cape St. Paul to the Nun outlet of t ...

of the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

in the North Atlantic Ocean. Togo stretches north from the Gulf and is only wide at the broadest point. In total, Togo has an area of , of which is land and is water.

is commonly divided into six geographic regions. In the south are low-lying sandy beaches. The coastal region is narrow and followed by tidal flats and shallow

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

s. There are also a number of lakes, the largest of which is

Lake Togo Lake Togo ''( French: Lac Togo)'' is the largest part of a lagoon in Togo, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow coastal strip. It is shallow and a popular location for water sports. Towns on the lake's shore include Agbodrafo and Togov ...

Land use

* Natural resources: phosphates,

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

, arable land * Land use: ** arable land: 44.2% ** permanent crops: 3.7% ** other: 52.1% (2011) * Irrigated land: 73 km² (2003) * Total renewable water resources: 14.7 km² * Natural hazards: hot, dry

Harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the ...

wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts.

Physical geography

The country consists primarily of two

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

plains regions separated by a southwest–northeast range of hills (the ''Chaîne du Togo''). In the north lies the

Ouatchi Plateau The Ouatchi Plateau is a tableland in southern central Togo, West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Th ...

. This plateau is about wide and located at an altitude of above sea level. ''Terre de Barre'' is another name for this region, in use because of the reddish leached soil which is rich in

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

. This southern area of Togo has been categorised by the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

as part of 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 ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

. Northeast of the Ouatchi Plateau lies a tableland. At its highest this region is about above sea level. The area is drained by the Mono River and its tributaries, including the

Ogou River Ogou is a prefecture located in the Plateaux Region of Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to t ...

. To the west and the southwest of the tableland lie the

Togo Mountains The Togo Mountains is a mountain range which stretches across the central region of the West African country of Togo and across the eastern and western borders of that country into Ghana and Benin. In Ghana, the range is also known as the Akwapim ...

. These mountains run across the central region of Togo, ranging from the southwest to the northeast. The mountain range reaches into

where it is known as the Atakora Mountains and

where it is known as the Akwapim Hills. The highest mountain in Togo is

Mount Agou Mount Agou (French: ''Mont Agou'', earlier known as ''Baumannspitze'' or Baumann Peak) is the highest mountain in Togo at . It is situated to the south east of Kpalimé in the Plateaux Region of Togo. The mountain lies close to the border with Gh ...

with a height of . North of the Togo Mountains lies a sandstone plateau through which the Oti River flows. The vegetation is characterized by savanna. The River Oti which drains the plateau is one of the main tributaries of the

River Volta The Volta River is the main river system in the West African country of Ghana. It flows south into Ghana from the Bobo-Dioulasso highlands of Burkina Faso. The main parts of the river are the Black Volta, the White Volta, and the Red Volta. In ...

. In the far northwest of Togo lies a higher region which is characterized by its rocks:

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 ...

and

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

. The cliffs of

Dapaong Dapaong (also known as Dapaongo or Dapango) is a city in northern Togo and prefecture seat of Tône in the Savanes Region, of which it is also the capital. It had a population of 58,071 at the 2010 Census. It is situated 638 km north of th ...

(Dapango) are located in this part of Togo.

Climate

The climate is generally tropical with average temperatures ranging from on the coast to about in the northernmost regions, with a dry climate and characteristics of a tropical savanna. To the south there are two seasons of rain (the first between April and July and the second between September and November), even though the average rainfall is very high. The climate is tropical and humid for seven months while the dry desert winds of the Harmattan blow south from November to March, bringing cooler weather.

Environment

Current issues: *

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel * health hazards and impact on the fishing industry from water pollution * air pollution increasing in urban areas Togo is party to:

Biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

Climate Change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, Climate Change-

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

Desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

Endangered Species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

, Law of the Sea,

Ozone Layer Protection The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16 September 1987, and entered into force o ...

, Ship Pollution ( MARPOL 73/78),

Tropical Timber 83 The International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), 1983) is an agreement to provide an effective framework for cooperation between tropical timber producers and consumers and to encourage the development of national policies aimed at sustainable ...

Tropical Timber 94 The International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), 1983) is an agreement to provide an effective framework for cooperation between tropical timber producers and consumers and to encourage the development of national policies aimed at sustainable ...

Wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

Whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of

, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. * Northernmost point – the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

with

and

, Savanes Region * Easternmost point – unnamed location on the border with

in the Mono River immediately west of the Beninese town of Grand-Popo, Maritime Region * Southernmost point – the point at which the border with Ghana enters the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, Maritime Region * Westernmost point - a point about 2.5 km southsouthwest of the tripoint with Ghana and Burkina Faso, Savanes Region

References

{{Togo topics