The Northern Province () (commonly referred to as Northern Sierra Leone or simply the North) is one of the five provincial divisions of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. It is located in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

ern

geographic Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

region of Sierra Leone. It comprises the following four Districts: Bombali, Falaba, Koinadugu and Tonkolili. The Northern Province has been divided into two Provinces Northwestern Province and Northern Province, today Northern Province covers an area of with a population of 1,316,831, based on the 2021 Sierra Leone national census. It is by far the largest Province of Sierra-Leone and also the least densely Province of the country Its administrative and economic center is Makeni. The North borders the North West Province to the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, the Republic of Guinea to the north-east, the Eastern Province and Southern Province to the south-east.

Geography

Overview

The Northern province is mainly a hilly wooded area with

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

ous area farther inland. The region has ranges of Mountains, Hills,

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

s, and

Wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s; comprising unique and

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, inv ...

. The region is a political stronghold of the All People's Congress (APC) political party. The APC currently controls all the elected seats from the North virtually.

Districts

The four districts of the Northern Province: * Bombali District, capital Makeni * Koinadugu District, capital Kabala * Falaba District, capital Mongo * Tonkolili District, capital Magburaka Prior to 2018, the province also included * Port Loko District, capital Port Loko * Kambia District, capital Kambia * Areas of Bombali district which now make up Karene District

Borders

The Northern Province has the following borders: * Mamou Region,

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

: north * Faranah Region,

: northeast * Nzérékoré Region,

: east * North West Province: west * Eastern Province: south * Southern Province: southwest

Outamba-Kilimi National Park

One of the main tourist attraction in the North is the Outamba-Kilimi National Park. The park is one of the most well-known and frequently visited sites in Sierra Leone. The Park is found in the northeastern of Kamakwie in the Bombali District. It is a magical place embedded between two rivers, the Great Scarcies, and the Mongo Rivers. At the park are rare

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s and buffaloes frequently seen following their paths through the dense bush. See the

Hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

s relaxing in their pools or listen to the

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

s of the rich

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

life and the alarm calls of the various

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

s while silently paddling along the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

Ethnic groups

The Temne people are the largest ethnic group in Northern Sierra Leone. The Temne form the largest ethnic group in every district in the north except Koinadugu District. Other ethnic groups in Northern Sierra Leone with significant population are the Limba, Kuranko, Mandingo, Loko, the Fula, and Yalunka. They are mostly Muslims and they engage in mainly farming and sometimes fishing.

Religion

References

External links

* {{Authority control Provinces of Sierra Leone