LIBERIA: ITS LAND
Liberia is a small country on the southern turn of the West
African bulge (see cover page), between Sierra Leone (n.w.),
Guinea (n.), and Ivory Coast (e.). It contains 43,000 square miles,
or 2.7 times the area of Switzerland.
The country has a very warm, humid tropical climate. Its
rainy season extends from May through October, and its dry season
from November through April. Annual rainfall varies from 200 inches
(along the coast) to 70 inches (in the north).
Geographically, Liberia is divided into three regions; (1) the
coastal region, (2) the plateau region, and (3) the highlands.
The Atlantic coastline, which extends for 350 miles in a south-
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erly direction, is bordered by a narrow, low-lying plain, dotted
by tidal creeks, shallow lagoons and mangrove swamps. Some 20 to 40
miles inland, the land rises abruptly to a region of tall, dense
forest, with elevations
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ranging from 600 to 1,000 feet.
Farther north, the land rises again to a less densely forested
plateau, broken by the Nimba and Waulo mountains, which rise to
heights exceeding 4,000 feet. Six major rivers flow southwestward
into the Atlantic Ocean.