Togo, officially French République Togolaise [repy Republic togo lε ː z], German Togolese Republic, country in West Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, with (2019) 8.1 million residents; The capital is Lome.
Location
According to Naturegnosis, Togo borders Ghana to the west, Burkina Faso to the north and Benin to the east.
Togo forms a 50 to a maximum of 140 km wide strip of territory, which extends from the coast of the Atlantic (coastline 56 km) about 550 km to the north in the interior. It is largely a plateau of the Precambrian base at 200–500 m above sea level, which is crossed by the Togo Atakora Mountains (in Mont Agou 986 m above sea level) centrally from southwest to northeast. The fertile and therefore very suitable for agricultural use mountainous land falls in the north to the Otiebene (foothills of the Volta Basin through which the Oti flows), in the southeast to the basin on the Mono, the 400 km longest river of Togo (with a reservoir). To the narrow coastal belt, a compensation coast with spits and partly silted up lagoons (e.g. the Lake Togo ), is followed by a 35 (in the west) to 50 km wide, gently undulating laterite plain (»terre de barre«), which reaches a maximum of 150 m above sea level. The extreme northwest is formed by a sandstone plateau that rises up to 600 m above sea level.
Climate
Togo has a marginal tropical climate with two rainy seasons (April – June and September – November) in the south and one rainy season (May – October) in the north. The annual total of precipitation reaches 900 mm on the coast and increases inland up to the base of the Togo-Atakora Mountains to 1,400 mm (in the center) to 1,700 mm (in the southwest). The north receives around 1,100 mm of precipitation on a long-term average, but in very different amounts in the individual years. The coolest month (mostly August) falls in the rainy season; its mean temperature values are around 24-25 ° C, at higher altitudes they drop to 22 ° C or even 20 ° C. Overall, however, the climate is characterized by slight seasonal temperature differences; the mean daily maxima in January are 30–33 ° C (in the mountains at 28 ° C), only in the north do they rise to values around 36 ° C. At the turn of the year, the dry winds affect the Harmattans the climate.
Vegetation
The wet savannah in the southern part of Togo (in the extreme south with oil and coconut palms) changes to dry savannah with acacias to the north. On the mountain slopes there are forest areas (in the Togo-Atakora Mountains rain-green wet forests), on the rivers gallery forests (less in the north). In the lower savannah areas there are antelopes and elephants. Almost 8% of the country’s area is a protected area.
Atakpamé
Atakpamé, trading town and road junction in central Togo, 250 m above sea level, west of the Monostaue lake in a fertile savannah landscape, (2020) 81 100 residents.
Administrative seat of the Région des Plateaux, Catholic bishopric; Protestant seminary; Cotton cultivation in the surrounding area. South of Atakpamé, in Dadja, large textile factory.
Kpalimé
Kpalimé, formerly Palimé, city in southwest Togo, in the Togo-Atakora mountains, 250 m above sea level, (2020) 89 700 residents.
Trade center in a fertile agricultural area (coffee, cocoa, oil palms, cotton, citrus fruits); Palm oil extraction, weaving.
Sokodé
Sokodé [s ɔ k ɔ en], city in Togo, the administrative center of the central region, 418 meters above sea level on the eastern edge of the Togo-Atakora Mountains, with (2020) 109 200 residents second largest city in the country.
Catholic bishopric; technical school; Trade center (kapok, peanuts, etc.) for northern Togo.
Sokodé was founded in 1889 as a German administrative post.
Kara
Kara, city in northern Togo, (2020) 115 400 residents.
Administrative headquarters of the De la Kara region; has been expanded into a regional center in recent years; University (opened in 2004); Cotton ginning, textile factory; to the northwest of Kara is Niamtougou International Airport.
Birthplace of President Gnassingbé Eyadéma .
Lome
Lome [l ɔ me], Lome, capital of Togo, on the Bay of Benin on the Gulf of Guinea; With 2.2 million residents, it is the cultural and commercial center of the republic.
World Heritage Sites in Togo
- Earthen architecture of Tamberma in the landscape Koutammakou (2004)
Koutammakou (World Heritage)
The approx. 500 km² large cultural landscape, also called “Land of the Tamberma”, is a special example of a traditional settlement system of fields, forests and villages, which is characterized by customs and rituals. Characteristic architecture are residential towers made of clay.
Koutammakou: facts
| Official title: | Koutammakou – Land of the Tamberma |
| Cultural monument: | Cultural landscape with a total area of 500 km² in the northeast of Togo, on the border with Benin; Life of the Batammariba resident there in sometimes multi-storey mud towers (Takienta) in a close, very original relationship to nature; Traditionally settled and cultivated to this day |
| Continent: | Africa |
| Country: | Togo |
| Location: | Kara region, northeast of Togo |
| Appointment: | 2004 |
| Meaning: | exceptional example of a traditional settlement system that still exists today |
