Sierra Leone: Geography and Enviroment














class home page: http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/hjelmgren/africa09proj3lev.html

By: Celeste Pollans   


    The country of Sierra Leone in Africa, has a diverse geography as well as many natural resources. In addition to the geography, Sierra Leone has many species that thrive as well as many species that are starting to become rarely found outside of protected areas. Unfortunately, Sierra Leone suffers from mass deforestation (Sierra Leone: Environment). None the less, Sierra Leone is an interesting country that everyone should know about.

   

    In Sierra Leone, Africa, the geography changes dramatically east to west and north to south. In the east, the land is made up almost entirely of plateaus, some reaching 2,000 feet high. Towards the west, Sierra Leone borders the Atlantic Ocean. The coast is covered in Mangrove swamps. In Northern Sierra Leone, the mountains reach heights of 6,000 feet. The average temperature remains at a hot and humid 81 degrees Fahrenheit. Sierra Leone has two different seasons, the wet and dry season and the annual rainfall is an average of about 200 inches. There are nine rivers in Sierra Leone that provide fresh water and are a source of the much used hydro-electricity (Sierra Leone: Geography and Economy). The most important rivers are the Great and Little Scarcie Rivers and the Rokel River. The shores of these rivers are vastly populated by natives. Sierra Leone is also a haven for natural resources. The main natural resources that come from Sierra Leone are diamonds, fish, iron, cocoa, rice, and gold. The market for fish trade has recently started to grow and along with that, the rice trade has begun to grow (Sierra Leone: Natural Resources & Agriculture). Overall the weather in Sierra Leone is very tropical and the geography is very different from one side of the country to the other.


            In Sierra Leone, there are many animals that thrive as well as several that are rarely found. Many species have unfortunately suffered from unmonitored hunting (Sierra Leone). Because of the constant warfare, monitoring hunting has become an unattainable goal for Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone: Environment). For example, the African elephant population has declined due to habitat destruction and unrestricted hunting. Now the government has created protected areas for the elephants. Other animals that have suffered from this hunting problem are leopards, lions, hyenas, and buffalo. These animals are almost never found outside of protected areas. None the less, there are still animals that have not been phased by the hunting problem. Chimpanzees and other types of monkeys thrive in the restricted forest zones. Hippopotamus’, Crocodiles, and Manatees are found in multitudes in rivers and lakes. Also, birds have barely been affected by warfare and the hunting problem. Although there are species that thrive, overall animals in Sierra Leone have been poorly impacted by the unmonitored hunting.

            Sierra Leone has not gone through any major geographical changes but it is suffering from deforestation. All of the constant warfare has taken its toll on the environment. Deforestation has been occurring on a very large scale. Now, eight percent of Sierra Leone’s land cannot be farmed. Sierra Leone’s government has tried to stop all of the deforestation but they simply do not have the money to put towards the cause. The country is poor to begin with and the deforestation only makes the problem worse. The people of Sierra Leone are carelessly cutting down trees for fire wood and farming. Forests are also getting destroyed from all of the war and fighting. Unfortunately, deforestation is a large problem in Sierra Leone and should be addressed.






                                                 Annotated Bibliography

McCoy, John F. "Sierra Leone." The World Geography Encyclopedia. 3rd ed. 2003.
     Academic OneFile. Gale. New Trier High School Library, Winnetka, IL. 4
     May 2009 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/?db=AONE>.


This website was very helpful and it is where I got most of my basic geographical facts.


Middleton, John. "Sierra Leone." An Encyclopedia for Students. 4th ed. 2002. Academic OneFile. Gale. 1             May 2009<http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/?db=AONE>.


This was the first source I found. It was very useful and it gave me a basic understanding of the country’s geography.


"Sierra Leone." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. May 6,                                         2009  <http://search.eb.com/eb/article-274783>.

This source was very useful. Most of the information I had on the animals that are endangered or thrive was from this source.


"Sierra Leone: Environment." Social Studies. 2009. ABC-CLIO. May 6, 2009                                                              http://www.worldgeography.abc-clio.com>.


From this source I got almost all of my information on deforestation and it helped me understand how severely Sierra Leone is being affected by this problem.

"Sierra Leone: Natural Resources & Agriculture." Social Studies. 2009. ABC-CLIO. May 6, 2009                              <http://www.worldgeography.abc-clio.com>.

This
source was very helpful in explaining what natural resources and farming industry in Sierra Leone.


Last Updated by Celeste Pollans 5/22/09
class home page:http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/hjelmgren/africa09proj3lev.html



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