Day of the Republic of Niger
Niger, officially Republic of Niger, French République du Niger, landlocked western African country. It is bounded on the northwest by Algeria, on the northeast by Libya, on the east by Chad, on the south by Nigeria and Benin, and on the west by Burkina Faso and Mali. The capital is Niamey. The country takes its name from the Niger River, which flows through the southwestern part of its territory. The name Niger derives in turn from the phrase gher n-gheren, meaning “river among rivers,” in the Tamashek language.
Land - Relief
Niger extends for about 750 miles (1,200 km) from north to south and about 930 miles (1,460 km) from east to west. It tends to monotony in its features, is intersected by numerous depressions, and is dominated by arid highlands in the north. Rainfall increases as one proceeds southward so that the country divides naturally into three distinct zones—a desert zone in the north; an intermediate zone, where nomadic pastoralists raise cattle, in the centre; and a cultivated zone in the south. It is in this southern zone that the greater part of the population, both nomadic and settled, is concentrated.
The highlands of the north are cut by valleys (kori) of the Aïr Massif, which is an extension of the Ahaggar (Hoggar) Mountains of Algeria and consists of a range running north to south in the centre of Niger, with individual mountain masses forming separate “islands”: from north to south these are Tazerzaït, where Mount Gréboun reaches an elevation of 6,379 feet (1,944 metres); Tamgak; Takolokouzet; Angornakouer; Bagzane; and Tarouadji. To the northeast is a series of high plateaus, which form a bridge between the Ahaggar Mountains of Algeria and the Tibesti Mountains of Chad. From west to east these are the plateaus of Djado, Mangueni, and Tchigaï.
The sandy regions of the Nigerien Sahara extend to either side of the Aïr. To the west the Talak region includes the Tamesna area in the north (where fossil valleys are filled with moving sand dunes) and the Azaoua area in the south. East of the Aïr is the Ténéré region, covered partly by an expanse of sand called an erg, partly by a stony plain called a reg.
The plateaus of the south, which form a belt about 900 miles long, may be divided into three regions. To the west is the Djerma Ganda region. Its large valleys are filled with sand, while dallol (fossilized valleys of rivers that formed tributaries of the Niger in ancient times) descend from the Aïr and the Iforas Massif of neighbouring Mali. The central region consists of the rocky Adar Doutchi and Majia areas; it is the region of the gulbi (dried-up valleys of former tributaries of the Sokoto River) and the Tegama—a tableland of sandstone, ending, toward the Aïr, at the Tiguidit scarp. To the east the underlying rock reappears in the Damagarim, Mounio, and Koutous regions, to the north of which is the region of Damergou, consisting of clays. In the Manga region, in the east, traces of ancient watercourses appear on the sandy plain.
Drainage and soils
It is convenient to make a distinction between the ancient hydrographic system, which allowed agriculturalists, fishermen, and pastoralists to live in the Aïr region about 5,000 or 6,000 years ago, and the present simple system, which forms the basis of the marked difference between the northern and southern parts of the country. The present system includes to the west the Niger River basin and to the east the basin of Lake Chad; between the two occur vestiges of the older system, such as the dallol and the gulbi.
To the west the Niger River crosses about 350 miles of Niger’s territory. Because of the change in river flow, which occurs because of the dispersal of its waters in its interior delta region in Mali, it is only in January and February that it flows past Niamey in flood. At other times the river is fed by certain temporary watercourses that flow in from the right bank. These are the Gorouol, the Dargol, the Sirba, the Goroubi, the Djamangou, the Tapoa, and the Mékrou; the last two flow through W National Park (so called because the Niger flows through the area in the form of a W). On the left bank, proceeding eastward, appear the dallol, the vestiges of the older watercourses.
Generally running from north to south, they constitute zones of dampness, although a few still contain waters that flow toward the Niger. The best known are the Bosso, the Foga, and the Maouri wadis. Other vestiges consist of the kori, which run down from the Aïr and from former tributaries that had their sources in the Iforas Massif, and which flowed to a confluence at what is now the Ti-m-merhsoï Wadi. No waters flow through the kori now, but water is still to be found beneath their sands. Other remnants of the old system are formed by the gulbi, through which water still flows annually, occasionally causing damage.
To the east is situated the basin of Lake Chad, a large, shallow lake, which at its highest contemporary level has an area of approximately 9,650 square miles; of this, Niger possesses about 1,100 square miles. Its extent is considerably reduced during the dry season. The Komadougou Yobé River, which flows into Lake Chad from the west, forms part of the frontier between Niger and Nigeria. Its water level, which begins to rise in August, from January to May consists only of some stagnant pools.
In addition to the drainage system described, it may be noted that rainwater collects in several basins, so that some permanent lakes or pools also exist; these are found at Keïta and Adouna in the Adar Doutchi region, at Madaroumfa in the Maradi gulbi, and at Guidimouni to the east of Zinder. The water table in some areas can also be tapped to produce artesian wells.
The soils fall into three natural regions. In the Saharan region in the north the soil is infertile, except in a few oases where water is found. In the region known as the Sahel, which forms a transitional zone between the Sahara and the region to the south, the soils are thin and white, being covered with salty deposits resulting from intense evaporation that forms an infertile surface crust. The third region (in the south) is cultivated. In this area the soils are associated with extensive dunes or uplands or with basins or depressions. Some of the soils in the latter, such as those in the Niger basin and in the gulbi, are rich. Black soils occur in the Kolo basin. Throughout the region, however, and above all on the plateaus, less fertile lateritic (leached iron-bearing) soils occur.
Climate of Niger
Niger extends southward from the tropic of Cancer, and the northern two-thirds of its territory lies in dry tropical desert. In the southern part of the country the climate is of the type known as Sahelian, which is characterized by a single, short rainy season. In January and February the continental equivalent of the northeast trade winds, the harmattan, blows southwestward from the Sahara toward the equator. Typically dust-laden, dry, and desiccating, the harmattan hinders normal living conditions on the southern fringe of the desert. From April to May the southern trade winds blowing from the Atlantic reach the equator and are diverted toward the Sahara where they meet with the harmattan—an encounter that results in violent line squalls and that signals the beginning of the rainy season. The rains last from one to four months, according to the latitude; August is the rainy month everywhere except in the far north, where the rainfall is unpredictable.
Niger lies in one of the hottest regions of the world. Temperatures rise from February to May and drop during the “winter” rainy season, rising again somewhat before falling to their annual minimum averages in December or January. During May (the hottest month), afternoon temperatures are high everywhere, ranging from a low of about 108 °F (42 °C) at Nguigmi on Lake Chad to 113 °F (45 °C) at Bilma and Agadez, both in the northern desert. In January, afternoon temperatures average more than 90 °F (mid-30s C) at most stations but at night may drop to freezing level in the desert. The daily range is greater in the desert north than in the south and is also more extreme during the dry season.
Rainfall varies according to location as well as season. The 10-inch isohyet (line on a map connecting points having equal rainfall) follows a line from near Tahoua to Gouré, in effect marking the northern limit of nomadic pastoral life, for the rainfall permits a sparse vegetation to grow. To the extreme south the 30-inch isohyet marks the southern limit of this zone, after which the southern agricultural zone begins. In the course of the same rainy season a most irregular spatial pattern of rainfall may occur, while from one year to another the total amount of rainfall may also vary; in addition, the rainy season itself may arrive early or late, thus jeopardizing crops.
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Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Niger