The Central African Republic is a landlocked nation within the interior of the

African continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is bordered by Cameroon,

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

. Much of the country consists of flat, or rolling plateau savanna, about above sea level. In the northeast are the Fertit Hills, and there are scattered hills in the southwestern part of the country. To the northwest is the Karre Mountains (also known as Yade Massif), a granite plateau with an altitude of . At , the Central African Republic is the world's 45th-largest country (after Somalia). It is comparable in size to Ukraine. Much of the southern border is formed by tributaries of the Congo River, with the Mbomou River in the east merging with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. In the west, the Sangha River flows through part of the country. The eastern border lies along the edge of the

Congo-Nile watershed The Congo-Nile Divide (or Nile Congo Watershed) is the continental divide that separates the drainage basins of the Nile and Congo rivers. It is about long. There are several geologically and geographically distinct sections between the point on ...

. Estimates of the amount of the country covered by forest range up to 8%, with the densest parts in the south. The forest is highly diverse and includes commercially important species of

Ayous ''Triplochiton scleroxylon'' is a tree of the genus ''Triplochiton'' of the family ''Malvaceae''. The timber is known by the common names African whitewood, abachi, obeche (in Nigeria), wawa (in Ghana), ayous (in Cameroon) and sambawawa (in Ivory ...

, Sapele and

Sipo The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...

. The deforestation rate is 0.4% per annum, and lumber poaching is commonplace.

Climate

The climate of the Central African Republic is generally a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen ''Aw''), although there are areas with a tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen ''Am'') and in the north there is also a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen ''BSh''). There is a wet season and a dry season, and the temperature is hot throughout the year. The northern areas are subject to

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 ...

winds, which are hot, dry, and carry dust. The tip of the northern regions have been subject to

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 ...

. The remainder of the country is prone to flooding from nearby rivers. About one third of the Central African Republic's population do not have access to clean water.

Notes

Satellite map of the Central African Republic

Location: Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo Area - comparative: *Slightly smaller than Somalia *Slightly larger than Ukraine Land boundaries:
''total:'' 5,920 km
''border countries:'' Cameroon 901 km,

1,556 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,747 km,

487 km,

174 km and South Sudan 1,055 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Terrain: vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest Elevation extremes:
''lowest point:'' Oubangui River 335 m
''highest point:''

Mont Ngaoui Mont Ngaoui is the highest mountain in the Central African Republic. It is located on the border with Cameroon and has a summit elevation of . External links Peakbagger listing Ngaoui Ngaoui Ngaoui Cameroon–Central African Republic border Nan ...

1,420 m Natural resources: diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, petroleum, hydropower Land use:
''arable land:'' 2.89%
''permanent crops:'' 0.13%
''other:'' 96.98% (2012 est.) Irrigated land: 1.35 km² (2003) Total renewable water resources: 144.4 km³ (2011) Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
''total:'' 0.07 km³/yr (83%/17%/1%)
''per capita:'' 17.42 m³/yr (2005) Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common Environment - current issues: tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished its reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification Environment - international agreements:
''party to:'' Biodiversity, Climate Change,

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 ...

, Hazardous Wastes,

Nuclear Test Ban The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nations ...

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 ...

, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
''signed, but not ratified:'' Law of the Sea Geography - note:

landlocked A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...

; almost the precise center of Africa

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of the Central African Republic, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. *Northernmost point - unnamed location in the Aoukal river on the border with

Vakaga Prefecture Vakaga is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Birao. It covers an area of 46,500 km and has a population of 37,595 (2003 census). The extremely low population density, less than 1 person/km, is a result ...

*Easternmost point - unnamed location immediately East of the tripoint with South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and south of the town of Ezo in South Sudan, Haut-Mbomou Prefecture *Southernmost point - the tripoint with Cameroon and the

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, Sangha-Mbaéré Prefecture *Westernmost point - unnamed location on the border with Cameroon west of the town of Koundé in Central African Republic near Cameroon's

Lokoti Lokoti is a village in the Mbéré department of the Adamawa Region in Cameroon. The village is crossed by a tar-sealed road. Climate The climate is temperate with savannah vegetation. Infrastructure There is a high school for general educati ...

Garoua Boulai Garoua or Garua (Fula: Garwa 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhabita ...

road, Nana-Mambéré Prefecture

References

{{Africa topic, Climate of pt:República Centro-Africana#Geografia