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112-500: Yaoundé , capital of Cameroon, is at the heart of the Centre, drawing people from the rest of the country to live and work there. The Centre's towns are also important industrial centres, especially for timber . Agriculture is another important economic factor, especially with regard to the province's most important cash crop , cocoa . Outside of the capital and the plantation zones, most inhabitants are sustenance farmers . In 2008,

224-399: A tropical wet and dry climate ( Aw ), and it is thermally equatorial rather than tropical, with a narrow range of monthly temperatures throughout the year. However, primarily due to the altitude, temperatures are not quite as hot as one would expect for a city located near the equator. Yaoundé features a lengthy wet season , covering a ten-month span between March and November. However, there

336-571: A "$ 152 million plan, largely financed by loans, primarily from the African Development Bank and the French Development Agency ", slated for completion in 2017. Despite the security issues and humanitarian crises that have plagued the central African nation, its economy remains stable. In fact, there is diversification of its productive economic activities, with the services sector contributing about half of

448-409: A body of water from 2 hectares (5 acres) to 8 hectares (20 acres). Pioneering animal ecologist Charles Elton regarded lakes as waterbodies of 40 hectares (99 acres) or more. The term lake is also used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre , which is a dry basin most of the time but may become filled under seasonal conditions of heavy rainfall. In common usage, many lakes bear names ending with

560-500: A comprehensive analysis of the origin of lakes and proposed what is a widely accepted classification of lakes according to their origin. This classification recognizes 11 major lake types that are divided into 76 subtypes. The 11 major lake types are: Tectonic lakes are lakes formed by the deformation and resulting lateral and vertical movements of the Earth's crust. These movements include faulting, tilting, folding, and warping. Some of

672-402: A form of organic lake. They form where a buildup of partly decomposed plant material in a wet environment leaves the vegetated surface below the water table for a sustained period of time. They are often low in nutrients and mildly acidic, with bottom waters low in dissolved oxygen. Artificial lakes or anthropogenic lakes are large waterbodies created by human activity . They can be formed by

784-598: A greater extent to the northwest between the Nyong and Sanaga Rivers. Other major cocoa centres include the Sanaga River valley near Nanga Eboko and the regions around the towns of Akonolinga , Obala, and Saa. Some of these plantations are owned by peasant populations of Bassa and Ewondo, and SODECAO (Cocoa Development Company) is a major owner. The Centre is also home to Cameroon's only sugar-cane plantations, located at Mbandjock. SOSUCAM ( Société Sucrerie du Cameroun )

896-538: A higher perimeter to area ratio than other lake types. These form where sediment from a tributary blocks the main river. These form where sediment from the main river blocks a tributary, usually in the form of a levee . Lakes formed by other processes responsible for floodplain basin creation. During high floods they are flushed with river water. There are four types: 1. Confluent floodplain lake, 2. Contrafluent-confluent floodplain lake, 3. Contrafluent floodplain lake, 4. Profundal floodplain lake. A solution lake

1008-510: A hypolimnion; accordingly, very shallow lakes are excluded from this classification system. Based upon their thermal stratification, lakes are classified as either holomictic , with a uniform temperature and density from top to bottom at a given time of year, or meromictic , with layers of water of different temperature and density that do not intermix. The deepest layer of water in a meromictic lake does not contain any dissolved oxygen so there are no living aerobic organisms . Consequently,

1120-428: A lake consists of a large area of standing water that occupies an extensive closed depression in limestone, it is also called a karst lake . Smaller solution lakes that consist of a body of standing water in a closed depression within a karst region are known as karst ponds. Limestone caves often contain pools of standing water, which are known as underground lakes . Classic examples of solution lakes are abundant in

1232-470: A large number of studies agree that small ponds are much more abundant than large lakes. For example, one widely cited study estimated that Earth has 304 million lakes and ponds, and that 91% of these are 1 hectare (2.5 acres) or less in area. Despite the overwhelming abundance of ponds, almost all of Earth's lake water is found in fewer than 100 large lakes; this is because lake volume scales superlinearly with lake area. Extraterrestrial lakes exist on

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1344-489: A natural outflow and lose water solely by evaporation or underground seepage, or both. These are termed endorheic lakes. Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for hydroelectric power generation, aesthetic purposes, recreational purposes, industrial use, agricultural use, or domestic water supply . The number of lakes on Earth is undetermined because most lakes and ponds are very small and do not appear on maps or satellite imagery . Despite this uncertainty,

1456-403: A result of meandering. The slow-moving river forms a sinuous shape as the outer side of bends are eroded away more rapidly than the inner side. Eventually a horseshoe bend is formed and the river cuts through the narrow neck. This new passage then forms the main passage for the river and the ends of the bend become silted up, thus forming a bow-shaped lake. Their crescent shape gives oxbow lakes

1568-535: A result of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake . Most landslide lakes disappear in the first few months after formation, but a landslide dam can burst suddenly at a later stage and threaten the population downstream when the lake water drains out. In 1911, an earthquake triggered a landslide that blocked a deep valley in the Pamir Mountains region of Tajikistan , forming the Sarez Lake . The Usoi Dam at

1680-458: A trading base for rubber and ivory. A military garrison was built in 1895 which enabled further colonization. After Imperial Germany's defeat in World War I , France held eastern Cameroon as a mandate , and Yaoundé was chosen to become the capital of the colony in 1922. Douala remained the more important settlement, but Yaoundé saw rapid growth and continued as the seat of government for

1792-422: A variation in density because of thermal gradients. Stratification can also result from a density variation caused by gradients in salinity. In this case, the hypolimnion and epilimnion are separated not by a thermocline but by a halocline , which is sometimes referred to as a chemocline . Lakes are informally classified and named according to the seasonal variation in their lake level and volume. Some of

1904-471: A whole. National Road 1 heads from Yaoundé all the way to Kousséri and Fotoko in the Far North Province . National Road 2 heads south from the capital to Ambam before continuing into Gabon and Equatorial Guinea . National Road 3, Cameroon's most heavily trafficked and thus most dangerous, covers the stretch between Yaoundé and Douala . National Road 4 travels northwest to Bafoussam in

2016-423: A year, affecting as many as 100,000 people at a time." After four years, the frequency of flooding had been reduced from fifteen to three times a year, and cases of water-borne diseases such as typhoid and malaria were reduced by almost half. Although Melingui died in 2013, local officials are continuing his efforts to transform the city. Ongoing improvements to sanitation infrastructure are being carried out under

2128-443: Is sag ponds . Volcanic lakes are lakes that occupy either local depressions, e.g. craters and maars , or larger basins, e.g. calderas , created by volcanism . Crater lakes are formed in volcanic craters and calderas, which fill up with precipitation more rapidly than they empty via either evaporation, groundwater discharge, or a combination of both. Sometimes the latter are called caldera lakes, although often no distinction

2240-403: Is a lake occupying a basin formed by surface dissolution of bedrock. In areas underlain by soluble bedrock, its solution by precipitation and percolating water commonly produce cavities. These cavities frequently collapse to form sinkholes that form part of the local karst topography . Where groundwater lies near the grounds surface, a sinkhole will be filled water as a solution lake. If such

2352-473: Is a major civilian hub, while nearby Yaoundé Airport is used by the military. Train lines run west to the port city of Douala and north to N'Gaoundéré . Cameroon is a bilingual country, where English and French are both official languages; therefore in the city there is a coexistence of French educational system schools, where the degree giving access to university is the Baccalaureate , and all

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2464-503: Is a noticeable decrease in precipitation within the wet season, seen during the month of July, almost giving the city the appearance of having two separate rainy seasons; this is because the city is only slightly north of the equator. It is primarily due to the relative lull in precipitation during this month that Yaoundé features a tropical wet and dry climate, as opposed to a tropical monsoon climate . Two trans-African automobile routes pass through Yaoundé: Many bus companies operate from

2576-558: Is a rectangular structure made of mud bricks and thin posts. Roofs are sometimes made of thatched raffia palm, but they are more often of corrugated aluminium, iron, or tin today. The Centre is one of the most important centres for the Bantu group known as the Beti-Pahuin ( Béti-Pahouin ), the "Fang-Beti," or simply the "Fang". These peoples share a common language and have similar customs. The Beti-Pahuin are further broken down into

2688-426: Is also a major fabric production centre. Rutile is mined at Akonolinga. The Centre is the crossroads of Cameroon, and as such, it is well equipped to handle the large amount of traffic that passes through. Most roads between towns and to neighbouring provinces are paved, and most of these lead to Yaoundé. The capital also serves as the transportation and shipping heart of the area, and to a smaller extent, Cameroon as

2800-514: Is also a regional distribution centre for coffee , cocoa , copra , sugar cane and rubber . Local residents engage in urban agriculture. The city is estimated to have "50,000 pigs and over a million chickens." In 2010, under Mayor Jean Claude Adjessa Melingui, Yaoundé began a flood reduction project, the Yaoundé City Sanitation Master Plan, to deal with "severe floods [that] disrupted the city 15 to 20 times

2912-401: Is characterised by rolling, forested hills, the tallest of which have bare, rocky tops. Deep valleys separate these. The province's highest point is Mbam Minkom , northwest of Yaoundé, at 1,295 metres. The Centre falls completely within a Type A or Guinea-type climate . This gives the region high humidity and precipitation, with rainfall averaging 1,000–2,000 mm each year. Precipitation

3024-468: Is dammed behind an ice shelf that is attached to the coastline. They are mostly found in Antarctica. Fluvial (or riverine) lakes are lakes produced by running water. These lakes include plunge pool lakes , fluviatile dams and meander lakes. The most common type of fluvial lake is a crescent-shaped lake called an oxbow lake due to the distinctive curved shape. They can form in river valleys as

3136-524: Is highest in the southernmost portions and diminishes toward the north. Temperatures are fairly steady, averaging 24˚ for the entire region except for the northwestern portions of Mbam division, where they fall to 23˚. The Centre also experiences equatorial seasons , alternating between rainy and dry periods. The long dry season begins the year, running from December to May. After this comes the short rainy season, which lasts from May to June. The short dry season comes next, from July to October. The year ends in

3248-731: Is home to foreign embassies and the expatriate European, American and other continental communities (drawn mainly from the diplomatic corps). The presidential palace and compound are in the Etoudi district. Also found in Yaoundé are: There is a small zoo in the Mvog-Betsi neighbourhood. Yaoundé has a small assortment of Pubs, nightclubs and restaurants. A distance outside Yaoundé is the NGO Ape Action Africa , which rescues and rehabilitates Great Apes threatened with extinction by

3360-452: Is made. An example is Crater Lake in Oregon , in the caldera of Mount Mazama . The caldera was created in a massive volcanic eruption that led to the subsidence of Mount Mazama around 4860 BCE. Other volcanic lakes are created when either rivers or streams are dammed by lava flows or volcanic lahars . The basin which is now Malheur Lake , Oregon was created when a lava flow dammed

3472-606: Is one of Cameroon's strongest economic zones due in great part to the presence of the capital city. In fact, the area is second only to the coastal regions of the Littoral, South, and Southwest Provinces . Many international organisations are headquartered at Yaoundé, among them the Bank of Central African States and the African Organisation of Industrial Property . Most farmers in the Centre are largely concerned with

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3584-743: Is prone to flooding during the rainy season. It is navigable from Nachtigal Falls to Edéa in the Littoral Province. Several smaller tributaries that drain the Centre's Mbam division form the Sanaga. The Djérem flows in from the Adamawa and then through the far northeast of the area before entering the East Province to join the Lom (the upper Sanaga). The Djérem, like the Sanaga, is also subject to seasonal flooding. The Kim flows in from

3696-718: Is the Central Hospital of Yaoundé ( Hôpital Central de Yaoundé ) with 650 beds. Yaoundé General Hospital ( Hôpital Général de Yaoundé – HGY) had 302 beds when it was built in 1985. Other hospitals are the Yaoundé Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital ( Hôpital Gynéco-Obstétrique et Pédiatrique de Yaoundé – HGOPY) and the University Hospital Center of Yaoundé ( Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Yaoundé – CHU). The national football team plays some of its home matches in

3808-543: Is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala . It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,500 ft) above sea level . The outpost of Epsumb or Jeundo was founded between the Nyong and Sanaga rivers at the northern edge of the area's forests in 1887 by German explorers as

3920-657: Is the compound of Matip Ma Ndombol of the Ndjogjel district of Eséka. Cameroon's president, Paul Biya , has his official residence in Yaoundé, though he spends much of his time abroad. Biya enjoys a great deal of political support from the Centre's Beti majority, thanks in part to his policy of staffing the government and government-owned businesses with plenty of representatives of this ethnic group. Yaound%C3%A9 Yaoundé ( UK : / j ɑː ˈ ʊ n d eɪ , - ˈ uː n -/ ; US : / ˌ j ɑː ʊ n ˈ d eɪ / , French pronunciation: [ja.unde] )

4032-588: Is the crossroads for logging vehicles travelling from the South and East Provinces, the Centre also has a sizeable timber processing industry. Major sawmills are located in Eséka, Mbalmayo, and Yaoundé. Other specialised plants do joinery work, veneer , furniture and construction . The booming immigration to Yaoundé city has nourished a strong building industry there. Brick making and construction of homes and offices have ballooned in recent years. Rocks from around

4144-485: Is the largest company in the region with 40 km. Peasant sugar plantations also operate in the area. A variety of other crops make up the rest of the plantation economy. Rice cultivation occurs along the Sanaga River valley in fields owned by SARIOECOO . Coffee is another important crop, grown in the eastern forests. Tobacco plantations owned by the Cameroon Tobacco Company (CTC) lie north of

4256-429: Is unknown but is estimated to be at least 2 million. Finland has 168,000 lakes of 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft) in area, or larger, of which 57,000 are large (10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) or larger). Most lakes have at least one natural outflow in the form of a river or stream , which maintain a lake's average level by allowing the drainage of excess water. Some lakes do not have

4368-553: Is usable as a building material, and traditional houses in the province are made from red, sun-dried bricks of mud. Toward the northern border, this soil becomes lightly evolved with large deposits of raw minerals, and at the confluence of the Sanaga and Mbam rivers, it is a mixture of several soil types. The Sanaga is the most important river in the province, as its many falls and rapids make it an important source of hydroelectric power . It also supports varied agriculture, as it

4480-614: The Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium and the football clubs Canon Yaoundé , Impôts FC and Tonnerre Yaoundé are all based in the city. The Grand Prix Chantal Biya , a men's road bicycle racing event on the UCI Africa Tour , starts and finishes in Yaoundé. Yaoundé is also the base for the National Institute of Youth and Sport ( INJS ); this school trains government workers who will be in charge of sport all across

4592-492: The Atlantic Ocean via the Littoral and South. Most of the Centre's great demand for electricity is supplied from hydroelectric centres in neighbouring provinces. However, plans are in place for a dam on the Nyong at Njock-Mpoume and on the Sanaga at Nachtigal to better supply the region's power needs. Most lakes in the Centre are manmade and located in the Yaoundé area. The majority of these were created during

Centre Region (Cameroon) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4704-613: The Bakas (pygmies) . They still inhabit the forests of the south and east regions. Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. During the late 1770s and early 1800s, the Fulani —a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel—conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants. The outpost of Epsumb or Jeundo

4816-402: The Beti-Pahuin people for over a century, but it has since experienced a great amount of immigration due to the placement of Cameroon's seat of government there in colonial times. Yaoundé's presence has prompted the construction of a large and well-maintained road system, and this has contributed to the area's boom. Another factor in the area's growth is its multiple plantations, particularly in

4928-759: The Malheur River . Among all lake types, volcanic crater lakes most closely approximate a circular shape. Glacial lakes are lakes created by the direct action of glaciers and continental ice sheets. A wide variety of glacial processes create enclosed basins. As a result, there are a wide variety of different types of glacial lakes and it is often difficult to define clear-cut distinctions between different types of glacial lakes and lakes influenced by other activities. The general types of glacial lakes that have been recognized are lakes in direct contact with ice, glacially carved rock basins and depressions, morainic and outwash lakes, and glacial drift basins. Glacial lakes are

5040-554: The Proto-Indo-European root * leǵ- ('to leak, drain'). Cognates include Dutch laak ('lake, pond, ditch'), Middle Low German lāke ('water pooled in a riverbed, puddle') as in: de:Wolfslake , de:Butterlake , German Lache ('pool, puddle'), and Icelandic lækur ('slow flowing stream'). Also related are the English words leak and leach . There is considerable uncertainty about defining

5152-528: The Republic of Cameroon upon its independence in 1960. Most of Yaoundé's economy is still centred on the administrative structure but major industries in Yaoundé include tobacco , dairy products, beer, clay , glass goods and timber . The city has many striking monuments and buildings, such as the Presidential Palace and Palais des Congrès. The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were likely

5264-687: The University of Yaoundé II (on a campus outside of town), the Protestant University of Central Africa (UPAC) and the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC). Several of the nation's professional schools are also located in Yaounde (Higher Teacher's training college, École Militaire InterArmes du Cameroun) as well as various schools for Engineers (Polytech), Doctors (CUSS), Nurses and Diplomats. The largest hospital

5376-601: The Yambassa live in and around Bafia-Banen territory. Though most of these tribal groups have their own distinct languages, most people in the Centre also speak French. European missionaries penetrated the territory under German and French colonial rule. Since, most of the region's inhabitants have converted to Christianity . The most prevalent denominations are Presbyterianism and Roman Catholicism , though traditional animist beliefs are commonly practiced alongside Christianity, especially in more rural areas. The Centre

5488-399: The density of water varies with temperature, with a maximum at +4 degrees Celsius, thermal stratification is an important physical characteristic of a lake that controls the fauna and flora , sedimentation, chemistry, and other aspects of individual lakes. First, the colder, denser water typically forms a layer near the bottom, which is called the hypolimnion . Second, normally overlying

5600-704: The Adamawa and through the northwestern portion of the Mbam division before merging with the Mbam River at the border with the West Province. The Mbam then empties into the Noun . The Noun, which flows in from the West Province, passes through the town of Bafia , and receives the flow of the Ndjim River north of Goura . The Noun then joins the Sanaga northeast of Monatélé . The Nyong is the only major river in

5712-637: The Beti, most of whom live in the Centre Province, and the Bulu and Fang, who primarily inhabit the South. The Beti consist of several smaller groups. The Ewondo (or Yaoundé) occupy the Centre's most populated region, including Yaoundé, Mbalmayo, and the Nyong and So division. The Yezum and Yebekolo are Ewondo sub-groups. The Bane are more numerous in the South Province, but they have some members in

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5824-588: The Centre at northwestern border with the West Province and stretching north and east to the Njim River . Their main settlement in the province is Ngambe Tikar on the Kim River. The Centre's Tikar speak a language known as Tumu and its dialects. The Centre Province Tikar are further divided into the Bang-Heng , Bankim , Ditan , Ina , Ngambe , Ngume , Ue , and Yakong . Large numbers of Bassa live in

5936-557: The Centre in recent years. To combat this, MIDEVIV , the Food Development Authority, sets up growing zones around major towns, especially Yaoundé, for the growing of bananas , cocoyams, plantains, and other necessities. This region is one of Cameroon's most important cash-crop zones due to its hot, humid climate and well-developed infrastructure. Cocoa is king, and it grows in all areas but the Mbam division. The largest plantations are those outside of Yaoundé and to

6048-400: The Centre sees little tourism per se . Yaoundé does offer many hotels , however, to handle the business and diplomatic traffic through the city. It is also the location of several manmade lakes used for sport and bathing. Most of Cameroon's monuments and museums are located in the capital. Several of the province's traditional chief 's compounds are accessible to visitors. Among these

6160-597: The Earth by extraterrestrial objects (either meteorites or asteroids ). Examples of meteorite lakes are Lonar Lake in India, Lake El'gygytgyn in northeast Siberia, and the Pingualuit crater lake in Quebec, Canada. As in the cases of El'gygytgyn and Pingualuit, meteorite lakes can contain unique and scientifically valuable sedimentary deposits associated with long records of paleoclimatic changes. In addition to

6272-404: The Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land . Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from the ocean , although they may be connected with the ocean by rivers . Lakes, as with other bodies of water , are part of the water cycle , the processes by which water moves around the Earth. Most lakes are freshwater and account for almost all

6384-843: The East and South Provinces is today a lucrative trade in Yaoundé and the large towns. Because of its immense territory devoted to cultivation, the Centre also has a substantial food processing industry. For example, CAMSUCO (Cameroon Sugar Company) has a large processing plant in Nkoetang that supplies eighty percent of Cameroon's sugar. SOCACAO (the Cameroon Cocoa Company) makes cocoa butter in Yaoundé. The Brasséries du Cameroun also operates in Yaoundé producing beers and soft drinks . Other food-processing plants are located in Nanga Eboko (rice hulling) and Eséka. As it

6496-571: The Lusatian Lake District, Germany. In India, Sudarshana Lake is a historical artificial lake located in the semi-arid region of Girnar, Gujarat, originally constructed during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. See: List of notable artificial lakes in the United States Meteorite lakes, also known as crater lakes (not to be confused with volcanic crater lakes ), are created by catastrophic impacts with

6608-603: The Nyong and Kelle division near the border with the Littoral Province. They are primarily situated in small villages of isolated huts. The Vute (Babuti) are a Bantu people who inhabit large swathes of the Mbam division to the east of Tikar and Bafia. Their domains are almost equal of those of the Beti in area. Tribes present in smaller numbers in the province include the Bajem , Baki , Bamun , Bulu, Fa' (Balong), Gbete (Kepere), Gunu , Lafa , Maka , Njauti , Nyokon , and Pori . Several heterogeneous groups collectively known as

6720-512: The Nyong and So division. The Mbida-Mbane and Mvog-Nyenge live east of Yaoundé. The Eton-Beti, Eton-Beloua, and Beloua-Eton are headquartered in the Lekie division northeast of Yaoundé, including the towns of Saa and Obala . The territory of the Mvelle stretches east from Yaoundé along the Nyong valley to the northern portions of the Nyong and Mfoumou division, including the border town of Ayos and

6832-546: The President of the Republic of Cameroon, President Paul Biya signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions. The Centre's soil is primarily composed of Precambrian deposits of metamorphic rocks , such as gneiss , mica , migmatites , and schists . Granite dominates from about 4˚ N and to the Adamawa border. Faults along

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6944-569: The Sanaga River at Batchenga . Palm plantations for palm oil and kernels , are located in the lower Sanaga and Nyong valleys, in the Nyong and Kelle division. Most of these are owned by SOCAPALM , headquartered in Eséka . Pineapples are grown commercially at Mbandjock by the Cameroon Pineapple Company . Livestock raising is another important economic sector, and Yaoundé is a major market for cattle from other regions of

7056-443: The West Province. National Road 9, one of the few that do not travel through the capital, begins at Mbalmayo and leads to the South Province towns of Sangmélima , Djoum , and Mintom . Finally, National Road 10 travels east from Yaoundé to Ayos and ultimately Bonis in the East Province. The Centre also forms an important hub of transportation by rail , air, and river. Train lines travel from Yaoundé to Douala and to Ngaoundéré in

7168-866: The base of the valley has remained in place for more than 100 years but the terrain below the lake is in danger of a catastrophic flood if the dam were to fail during a future earthquake. Tal-y-llyn Lake in north Wales is a landslide lake dating back to the last glaciation in Wales some 20000 years ago. Aeolian lakes are produced by wind action . These lakes are found mainly in arid environments, although some aeolian lakes are relict landforms indicative of arid paleoclimates . Aeolian lakes consist of lake basins dammed by wind-blown sand; interdunal lakes that lie between well-oriented sand dunes ; and deflation basins formed by wind action under previously arid paleoenvironments. Moses Lake in Washington , United States,

7280-474: The beginning of the dry season. Such slash-and-burn agriculture is adequate for the needs of small villages away from larger urban centres. Soil is exhausted quickly, necessitating the change of fields every two or three years. The soil can remain infertile for as much as ten years. However, when settlements are sparse, this presents little problem. As one of Cameroon's most populous areas, however, soil exhaustion has become an increasingly troublesome problem for

7392-455: The border with the South Province have deposited metamorphic schists and quartzites , with some granite. Laterites are also common, caused by the decomposition of the crystalline rock. Red ferrallitic soil dominates most of the province, including the forested zone and much of the savanna area. Though as deep as ten metres, this soil is leached by silica and percolating water, making it only marginally productive for agriculture. However, it

7504-546: The capital are quarried for building material. Artisans also form a significant slice of the economy. Those of Yaoundé have a co-op to help meet the needs of the tourist trade, while those of Nanga Eboko are renowned for their highly decorated pottery . Diverse industries round out the Centre's repertoire. One example is the Bastos Company , which produces cigarettes in Yaoundé. Textiles are another major industry, and cotton gins operate in Yaoundé. The capital

7616-460: The city between 1980 and 2014, causing massive loss of life and economic damage. However, there has been a reduction of flooding in the city since the establishment of a sanitation master plan to address the issue. Another measure was to relocate people living along the drainage routes and in low-lying flood zones. The city centre houses government offices, some hotels, and the central market. The Bastos district, with most homes owned by Cameroonians,

7728-502: The city; particularly in the Nsam and Mvan districts. Frequent buses run on the road between Yaoundé and Douala, which has witnessed several fatal accidents. Travel time by road between Douala and Yaounde is approximately 3 hours. Traffic in the city can be heavy during weekdays, but is very light during the weekends. Yaoundé has made significant progress in infrastructure, especially road construction. Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport

7840-414: The cocoa-growing centre between the Sanaga and Nyong rivers and the sugar-cane area of Mbandjock , which draw thousands of migrant workers, mostly from the highly populated West and Littoral Provinces. As an important educational and government centre, Yaoundé also draws many more highly educated migrants. The majority of the Centre's residents live in the city of Yaoundé (population 1.1 million) or along

7952-577: The colonial period for the pursuit of water sports . The Centre Province is entirely situated on the South Cameroon Plateau . The land varies from 500 to 1000 metres above sea level except for the valleys of the Sanaga and its tributaries, which dip as low as 200 metres. The land rises gently in escarpments from the southwestern coastal plain before joining the Adamawa Plateau via depressions and granite massifs . The terrain

8064-613: The country during their career. Joel Embiid , center for the Philadelphia 76ers , and Luc Mbah a Moute , who was a forward for the Los Angeles Clippers are from Yaoundé, as are Samuel Umtiti , a footballer for the national team of France and FC Barcelona , Breel Embolo , a footballer for AS Monaco FC and Vincent Aboubakar , a footballer for Porto . Lake A lake is an often naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near

8176-607: The country. Cattle are raised on ranches owned by the Livestock Development Authority at Mbandjock, and poultry are raised in farms at Makak , Obala, and Yaoundé to supply the province's vast demand for eggs and chicken. Sheep , goats , pigs , and poultry are also raised more informally throughout the area. Hunting is practiced to some extent in more rural areas, but this has become increasingly rare as forest exploitation and firearms have depleted game species and their habitats. Bushmeat from

8288-915: The courses of mature rivers, where a river channel has widened over a basin formed by eroded floodplains and wetlands . Some lakes are found in caverns underground . Some parts of the world have many lakes formed by the chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last ice age . All lakes are temporary over long periods of time , as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them. Artificially controlled lakes are known as reservoirs , and are usually constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydroelectric power generation, for supplying domestic drinking water , for ecological or recreational purposes, or for other human activities. The word lake comes from Middle English lake ('lake, pond, waterway'), from Old English lacu ('pond, pool, stream'), from Proto-Germanic * lakō ('pond, ditch, slow moving stream'), from

8400-518: The creation of lakes by the disruption of preexisting drainage networks, it also creates within arid regions endorheic basins that contain salt lakes (also called saline lakes). They form where there is no natural outlet, a high evaporation rate and the drainage surface of the water table has a higher-than-normal salt content. Examples of these salt lakes include Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea . Another type of tectonic lake caused by faulting

8512-622: The difference between lakes and ponds , and neither term has an internationally accepted definition across scientific disciplines or political boundaries. For example, limnologists have defined lakes as water bodies that are simply a larger version of a pond, which can have wave action on the shoreline or where wind-induced turbulence plays a major role in mixing the water column. None of these definitions completely excludes ponds and all are difficult to measure. For this reason, simple size-based definitions are increasingly used to separate ponds and lakes. Definitions for lake range in minimum sizes for

8624-462: The dry season and burn the resulting brush. Farmers take care to protect trees bearing edible fruit, such as mangoes , plums , and pears , though fires sometimes grow out of control and prevent this. Farmers then plant seeds after the first rains: spices and vegetables closer to the house, plantains and tubers in larger plots farther into the bush. Villagers traditionally group their farms together as protection against animals and harvest their crops at

8736-744: The education is in French, and the English educational system schools, where the degree giving access to university is the GCE Advanced level . There are three American schools in Cameroon, the American School of Yaounde (ASOY) and Rain Forest International School (RFIS), and the American School of Douala (ASD). There is also one Turkish School, The Amity College/School. Yaoundé is the site of several universities:

8848-536: The exception of criterion 3, the others have been accepted or elaborated upon by other hydrology publications. The majority of lakes on Earth are freshwater , and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes . Canada , with a deranged drainage system , has an estimated 31,752 lakes larger than 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) in surface area. The total number of lakes in Canada

8960-435: The forested zones farther south. The Sudano-Guinea portion is similar, only the grass grows more thinly, and trees are both evergreen and deciduous . The region was once much more heavily forested, but exploitation of species such as ebony and iroko has thinned out the woodlands and allowed dense undergrowth to appear. This has also pushed the savanna farther south over time. Today there remains very little virgin land in

9072-422: The hypolimnion is a transition zone known as the metalimnion . Finally, overlying the metalimnion is a surface layer of warmer water with a lower density, called the epilimnion . This typical stratification sequence can vary widely, depending on the specific lake or the time of year, or a combination of both. The classification of lakes by thermal stratification presupposes lakes with sufficient depth to form

9184-594: The illegal bushmeat and deforestation trades. The places of worship in the city are predominantly Christian churches: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yaoundé ( Catholic Church ), Christian Missionary Fellowship International and Associated Churches (Pentecostal), Evangelical Church of Cameroon ( World Communion of Reformed Churches ), Presbyterian Church in Cameroon ( World Communion of Reformed Churches ), Union of Baptist Churches in Cameroon ( Baptist World Alliance ), Full Gospel Mission Cameroon ( Assemblies of God ). There are also Muslim mosques. Yaoundé features

9296-907: The intentional damming of rivers and streams, rerouting of water to inundate a previously dry basin , or the deliberate filling of abandoned excavation pits by either precipitation runoff , ground water , or a combination of both. Artificial lakes may be used as storage reservoirs that provide drinking water for nearby settlements , to generate hydroelectricity , for flood management , for supplying agriculture or aquaculture , or to provide an aquatic sanctuary for parks and nature reserves . The Upper Silesian region of southern Poland contains an anthropogenic lake district consisting of more than 4,000 water bodies created by human activity. The diverse origins of these lakes include: reservoirs retained by dams, flooded mines, water bodies formed in subsidence basins and hollows, levee ponds, and residual water bodies following river regulation. Same for

9408-471: The karst regions at the Dalmatian coast of Croatia and within large parts of Florida . A landslide lake is created by the blockage of a river valley by either mudflows , rockslides , or screes . Such lakes are most common in mountainous regions. Although landslide lakes may be large and quite deep, they are typically short-lived. An example of a landslide lake is Quake Lake , which formed as

9520-657: The largest lakes on Earth are rift lakes occupying rift valleys, e.g. Central African Rift lakes and Lake Baikal . Other well-known tectonic lakes, Caspian Sea , the Sea of Aral , and other lakes from the Pontocaspian occupy basins that have been separated from the sea by the tectonic uplift of the sea floor above the ocean level. Often, the tectonic action of crustal extension has created an alternating series of parallel grabens and horsts that form elongate basins alternating with mountain ranges. Not only does this promote

9632-528: The layers of sediment at the bottom of a meromictic lake remain relatively undisturbed, which allows for the development of lacustrine deposits . In a holomictic lake, the uniformity of temperature and density allows the lake waters to completely mix. Based upon thermal stratification and frequency of turnover, holomictic lakes are divided into amictic lakes , cold monomictic lakes , dimictic lakes , warm monomictic lakes, polymictic lakes , and oligomictic lakes. Lake stratification does not always result from

9744-560: The level of a lake are controlled by the difference between the input and output compared to the total volume of the lake. Significant input sources are precipitation onto the lake, runoff carried by streams and channels from the lake's catchment area, groundwater channels and aquifers, and artificial sources from outside the catchment area. Output sources are evaporation from the lake, surface and groundwater flows, and any extraction of lake water by humans. As climate conditions and human water requirements vary, these will create fluctuations in

9856-440: The local Yaunde or Ewondo people. His settlement served as a base for the area's rubber and ivory trade , purchasing these from the natives in exchange for imported clothing and iron . It was also known in English as Yaunde Station . Major Dominik 's establishment of a military garrison at the site in 1895 permitted a Pallotine mission and religious school at nearby Mvolyé (now a suburb). During World War I , Jaunde

9968-480: The long rainy season from October to November. North of 5˚, the dry periods last up to four months. The Centre is forested except for the valleys of the Djérem, Mbam, and Noun rivers (most of the Mbam division) and the northern border region. These areas are woodland savanna and Sudano-Guinea savanna, respectively. The woodland savanna is characterised by large expanses of grass punctuated by small copses of trees from

10080-481: The mainland; lakes cut off from larger lakes by a bar; or lakes divided by the meeting of two spits. Organic lakes are lakes created by the actions of plants and animals. On the whole they are relatively rare in occurrence and quite small in size. In addition, they typically have ephemeral features relative to the other types of lakes. The basins in which organic lakes occur are associated with beaver dams, coral lakes, or dams formed by vegetation. Peat lakes are

10192-424: The mode of origin, lakes have been named and classified according to various other important factors such as thermal stratification , oxygen saturation, seasonal variations in lake volume and water level, salinity of the water mass, relative seasonal permanence, degree of outflow, and so on. The names used by the lay public and in the scientific community for different types of lakes are often informally derived from

10304-485: The moon Titan , which orbits the planet Saturn . The shape of lakes on Titan is very similar to those on Earth. Lakes were formerly present on the surface of Mars, but are now dry lake beds . In 1957, G. Evelyn Hutchinson published a monograph titled A Treatise on Limnology , which is regarded as a landmark discussion and classification of all major lake types, their origin, morphometric characteristics, and distribution. Hutchinson presented in his publication

10416-415: The morphology of the lakes' physical characteristics or other factors. Also, different cultures and regions of the world have their own popular nomenclature. One important method of lake classification is on the basis of thermal stratification, which has a major influence on the animal and plant life inhabiting a lake, and the fate and distribution of dissolved and suspended material in the lake. For example,

10528-406: The most numerous lakes in the world. Most lakes in northern Europe and North America have been either influenced or created by the latest, but not last, glaciation, to have covered the region. Glacial lakes include proglacial lakes , subglacial lakes , finger lakes , and epishelf lakes. Epishelf lakes are highly stratified lakes in which a layer of freshwater, derived from ice and snow melt,

10640-791: The names include: Lakes may be informally classified and named according to the general chemistry of their water mass. Using this classification method, the lake types include: A paleolake (also palaeolake ) is a lake that existed in the past when hydrological conditions were different. Quaternary paleolakes can often be identified on the basis of relict lacustrine landforms, such as relict lake plains and coastal landforms that form recognizable relict shorelines called paleoshorelines . Paleolakes can also be recognized by characteristic sedimentary deposits that accumulated in them and any fossils that might be contained in these sediments. The paleoshorelines and sedimentary deposits of paleolakes provide evidence for prehistoric hydrological changes during

10752-434: The north. An international airport is located just outside Yaoundé at Nsimalen , and airstrips are at Akonolinga, Bafia, Eséka, Mbandjock, and Nanga Eboko. The Nyong River is navigable from Mbalmayo northeast to Abong-Mbang in the East during the wet season. Many international visitors to Cameroon see at least the city of Yaoundé, if nowhere else. The majority of these travellers visit on company or government business, so

10864-562: The organic-rich deposits of pre-Quaternary paleolakes are important either for the thick deposits of oil shale and shale gas contained in them, or as source rocks of petroleum and natural gas . Although of significantly less economic importance, strata deposited along the shore of paleolakes sometimes contain coal seams . Lakes have numerous features in addition to lake type, such as drainage basin (also known as catchment area), inflow and outflow, nutrient content, dissolved oxygen , pollutants , pH , and sedimentation . Changes in

10976-668: The plantation centre of Mbandjock. The Eki live throughout the Upper Sanaga division with settlements at Nanga Eboko and Minta. In addition, some peoples in the Centre are not truly Beti-Pahuin but are currently in the process of being assimilated by that group. Among these are the Manguissa , who live in a small territory in the Lekie division between the Sanaga River and the town of Sa'a, the Bamvele , Batchanga (Tsinga), Evuzok , Omvang , Yekaba , and Yetudi . The area around

11088-645: The province that does not flow into the Sanaga. It rises in the East Province, passes through Mbalmayo , continues west, then forms the border between the Littoral and South provinces. Because the Nyong flows completely through an equatorial climate, it has one period of high water during the rainy season (March to October), during which it is navigable from Mbalmayo to Abong-Mbang in the East Province. Other Centre Province rivers flow through both equatorial and tropical climate zones where rainy seasons occur at different times, and so they never experience great fluctuations in water level. All Centre Province rivers empty into

11200-698: The province. The Mfou Reserve ( Réserve du Mfou ) is one such area, recently created by the WWF and the GTZ to protect various bird , monkey , and snake species. Cameroonian wildlife also lives in the Mvog Betsi Zoo in Yaoundé. In April 2019, 2 lions were discovered in Mpem and Djim National Park . With a population of more than 4 million, the Centre is one of the more densely populated of Cameroon's provinces . The area has been an important population center for

11312-486: The raising of crops such as plantains (common south of Yaoundé) and cocoyams and yams (common west and northwest of the capital). Rice and yam cultivation are practiced along the banks of the Sanaga in the Upper Sanaga division. Groundnuts , maize and other cereals are common in the province's less humid north, and manioc grows throughout. Sustenance farmers first clear small patches of forest. They remove trees with traditional tools such as axes or machetes during

11424-420: The roads and in the major towns. The population density thins out away from the major thoroughfares, especially in the Mbam and Upper Sanaga divisions. A few isolated settlements, such as Nanga Eboko , also support a larger population. Settlements in the Centre are traditionally placed along roads, resulting in large numbers of houses near the road with forest beginning directly behind them. The traditional house

11536-439: The seat of government for the Republic of Cameroon upon its independence. Most of Yaoundé's economy is centred on the administrative structure of the civil service and the diplomatic services. Owing to these high-profile central structures, Yaounde has a higher standard of living and security than the rest of Cameroon. Major industries in Yaoundé include tobacco , dairy products, beer, clay , glass goods and timber . It

11648-404: The thermal stratification, as well as the degree and frequency of mixing, has a strong control over the distribution of oxygen within the lake. Professor F.-A. Forel , also referred to as the "Father of limnology", was the first scientist to classify lakes according to their thermal stratification. His system of classification was later modified and improved upon by Hutchinson and Löffler. As

11760-456: The times that they existed. There are two types of paleolake: Paleolakes are of scientific and economic importance. For example, Quaternary paleolakes in semidesert basins are important for two reasons: they played an extremely significant, if transient, role in shaping the floors and piedmonts of many basins; and their sediments contain enormous quantities of geologic and paleontologic information concerning past environments. In addition,

11872-470: The total domestic production. However, like many African countries, Cameroon has long suffered from corruption, which dominates almost all the sectors, particularly in the capital city. Oil, gas and mining revenues are rarely reported, which implies massive graft. In addition, there is weak protection of real and intellectual property, and the judicial system is vulnerable to political manipulation. According to Yaoundé City Council data, over 130 floods struck

11984-598: The town of Bafia and the west-jutting finger of land on the border of the Littoral Province is the home of several related peoples, collectively referred to as the Banen or Bafia . Tribes in this group include the Ndiki , Ntundu , Lemande , and Yambetta . The Bape and Bekke are also a part, though they were assimilated only fairly recently. Though more numerous in the West and Northwest Provinces, several Tikar groups live in

12096-467: The word pond , and a lesser number of names ending with lake are, in quasi-technical fact, ponds. One textbook illustrates this point with the following: "In Newfoundland, for example, almost every lake is called a pond, whereas in Wisconsin, almost every pond is called a lake." One hydrology book proposes to define the term "lake" as a body of water with the following five characteristics: With

12208-995: The world's surface freshwater, but some are salt lakes with salinities even higher than that of seawater . Lakes vary significantly in surface area and volume of water. Lakes are typically larger and deeper than ponds , which are also water-filled basins on land, although there are no official definitions or scientific criteria distinguishing the two. Lakes are also distinct from lagoons , which are generally shallow tidal pools dammed by sandbars or other material at coastal regions of oceans or large lakes. Most lakes are fed by springs , and both fed and drained by creeks and rivers , but some lakes are endorheic without any outflow, while volcanic lakes are filled directly by precipitation runoffs and do not have any inflow streams. Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas (i.e. alpine lakes ), dormant volcanic craters , rift zones and areas with ongoing glaciation . Other lakes are found in depressed landforms or along

12320-453: Was founded between the Nyong and Sanaga rivers at the northern edge of the area's forests in 1887, 1888, or February 1889 by the German explorers Lt. Richard Kund and Hans Tappenbeck by the agreement of the chiefs of Ela Esono. From December 1889 to May 1895, it was occupied by the German botanist Georg August Zenker as an agricultural research station named Jaunde after

12432-504: Was occupied by Belgian troops from the Congo . After Imperial Germany's defeat in that war, France held eastern Cameroon as a mandate of the League of Nations and Yaoundé was chosen to become the capital of the colony in 1922. Douala long remained the more important settlement, but Yaoundé saw rapid growth after 1957 due to the cocoa crisis and unrest along the coast. It continued as

12544-617: Was originally a shallow natural lake and an example of a lake basin dammed by wind-blown sand. China's Badain Jaran Desert is a unique landscape of megadunes and elongated interdunal aeolian lakes, particularly concentrated in the southeastern margin of the desert. Shoreline lakes are generally lakes created by blockage of estuaries or by the uneven accretion of beach ridges by longshore and other currents. They include maritime coastal lakes, ordinarily in drowned estuaries; lakes enclosed by two tombolos or spits connecting an island to

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