{{Short description|Mountainous area in Cameroon}} {{Redirect-distinguish|Cameroon Highlands|Cameron Highlands District}}
[[Image:Végétation Bamougong.jpg|thumb|[[Bamileke people|Bamileke]] grassland]] [[Image:Lake Oku Cameroon.jpg|thumb|[[Lake Oku]] is a [[Volcanic crater lake|crater lake]] on the plateau.]] [[Image:Menchum Falls NWprovince Cameroon.jpg|thumb|[[Menchum Falls]] is a [[tributary]] of the [[Benue River]].]] [[Image:Bamenda from mountain road.jpg|thumb|[[Bamenda]] from the mountain road into town.]] The '''Western High Plateau''', '''Western Highlands''' or '''Bamenda Grassfields''' is a region of [[Cameroon]] characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall and [[savanna]] vegetation. The region lies along the [[Cameroon line]] and consists of [[mountain range]]s and [[volcano]]es made of [[Crystalline rock|crystalline]] and [[igneous rock]]. The region borders the [[South Cameroon Plateau]] to the southeast, the [[Adamawa Plateau]] to the northeast and the Cameroon coastal plain to the south.
==Topography and geology== The Western High Plateau lies along the [[Cameroon line]], a series of volcanic swells running from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in the southwestern part of the plateau to the [[Adamawa Plateau]] in the northeast. The region is characterised by accidented relief of [[massif]]s and mountains. The Western High Plateau features several dormant [[volcano]]es, including the [[Bamboutos Mountains]], [[Mount Oku]] and [[Mount Kupe]].{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=8}} The plateau rises in steps from the west. To the east, it terminates in mountains that range from 1,000 metres to 2,500 metres in height, terminating in the [[South Cameroon Plateau]].{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=8}} The plateau gives way to the [[Adamawa Plateau]] to the northeast, which is a larger but less accidented region.{{sfn|Neba|1999|pp=17}}
The core of the plateau is made up of [[volcanic rock]], which is ringed by [[plutonic rock]].{{sfn|Neba|1999|pp=23-24}} The base is [[crystalline rock|crystalline]] and [[metamorphic rock]].{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=12}} The base rock is primarily [[gneiss]] and [[granite]] that dates to the [[Precambrian|Precambrian period]]. A layer of [[basalt]] covers this.{{sfn|Neba|1999|pp=17}} Vulcanism has created fertile black and brown soils.{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=19}} Erosion played a large role.
==Climate and drainage== The plateau experiences an [[equatorial climate]] of the Cameroon type. The area experiences two major seasons: A long, [[wet season]] of nine months, and a short, [[dry season]] of three months. During the wet season, humid, prevailing [[monsoon]] winds blow in from the west and lose their moisture upon hitting the region's mountains. Average rainfall per year ranges from 1,000 mm to 2,000 mm.{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=16-17}} High elevations give the region a cooler climate than the rest of Cameroon. For example, the average temperature at [[Dschang]] in the [[West Region (Cameroon)|West Region]] is 20°C.{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=17}} Toward the north, rainfall levels are reduced as the [[Sudan climate]] becomes predominant.{{sfn|Neba|1999|pp=19}}
The Western High Plateau's relief and high rainfall make it a major [[Drainage divide|watershed]] for Cameroon.{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=24}} Important rivers in the region include the [[Manyu River|Manyu]], which rises in the [[Bamboutos Mountains]] and becomes the [[Cross River (Nigeria)|Cross River]] on its lower course, and the [[Nkam River|Nkam]], which is known as the [[Wouri River]] on its lower course.{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=17}} The region gives rise to important tributaries to the [[Sanaga River]].{{sfn|Neba|1999|pp=40}} These rivers follow a Cameroon regime, a subtype of the equatorial regime of other southern [[List of rivers of Cameroon|Cameroonian rivers]]. This means that the rivers experience a long, high-water period during the wet season and a short, low-water period during the dry season.{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=25}} The region's rivers ultimately empty into the [[Atlantic Ocean]].{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=24}} The area's accidented geography gives rise to several [[waterfall]]s along these waterways. [[Ekon Falls]] near [[Nkongsamba]] in the West Region is 80 metres high.{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=27}} [[Volcanic crater lake|Crater lake]]s dot the plateau, the result of dead volcanoes filling with water.{{sfn|Neba|1999|pp=17}}
==Flora== {{Main|Cameroonian Highlands forests}}
The Western High Plateau was once heavily forested. However, repeated cutting and burning by human beings has forced the forest back to areas along the waterways and has allowed grasslands to expand into the area.{{sfn|Gwanfogbe|Meligui|Moukam|Nguoghia|1983|pp=18}} [[Sudan (region)|Sudan]] [[savanna]] forms the dominant vegetation. This consists of grassfields—leading to the name ''Bamenda grassfields'' around the city of [[Bamenda]]—and short shrubs and trees that shed their foliage during the dry season as a defence against brush fires and dry weather. [[Raffia palm]]s grow in the valleys and depressions.{{sfn|Neba|1999|pp=34}}
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=20em}} {{refbegin}} ===Sources===
*{{cite book |last1=Gwanfogbe |first1=Mathew|first2=Ambrose |last2=Meligui |first3=Jean |last3=Moukam |first4=Jeanette |last4=Nguoghia |year=1983 |title=Geography of Cameroon |location=Hong Kong |publisher=Macmillan Education |isbn=0-333-36690-5}} *{{cite book |last=Neba |first=Aaron |year=1999 |title=Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon |location=Bamenda |publisher=Neba Publishers}} {{refend}}
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[[Category:Plateaus of Cameroon]] [[Category:Highlands]]