Geography of Togo#Extreme points

{{Short description|none}}

{{More citations needed|date=April 2019}}

File:Togo2021OSM.png

File:LocationTogo.svg

Togo is a small Sub-Saharan state, comprising a long strip of land in West Africa. Togo's geographic coordinates are a latitude of 8° north and a longitude of 1°10′ east. It is bordered by three countries: Benin to the east, with {{convert|644|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of border; Burkina Faso to the north, with {{convert|126|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of border; and Ghana, with {{convert|877|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of border. To the south Togo has {{convert|56|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of coastline along the Bight of Benin of the Gulf of Guinea in the North Atlantic Ocean. Togo stretches {{convert|579|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north from the Gulf and is only {{convert|160|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} wide at the broadest point. In total, Togo has an area of {{convert|56785|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, of which {{convert|54385|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} is land and {{convert|2400|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} is water.

Togo is commonly divided into six geographic regions. In the south are low-lying sandy beaches. The coastal region is narrow and followed by tidal flats and shallow lagoons. There are also over 200 lakes, the largest of which is Lake Togo.

Area statistics

; Area:

:* Total: 56,785 km²

:**country rank in the world: 123rd

:* Land: 54,390 km²

:* Water: 2,400 km²

; Area comparative

:* Australia comparative: approximately {{sfrac|5|6}} the size of Tasmania

:* Canada comparative: approximately equal in size to Nova Scotia

:* United Kingdom comparative: approximately four times the size of Northern Ireland

:* United States comparative: approximately {{sfrac|1|10}} smaller than West Virginia

:* EU comparative: approximately equal in size to Croatia

Land use

  • Natural resources: phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land
  • Land use:
  • arable land: 44.2%
  • permanent crops: 3.7%
  • other: 52.1% (2011)
  • Irrigated land: 73 km2 (2003)
  • Total renewable water resources: 14.7 km2
  • Natural hazards: hot, dry Harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts.

Physical geography

The country consists primarily of two savanna plains regions separated by a southwest–northeast range of hills (the Chaîne du Togo). In the north lies the Ouatchi Plateau. This plateau is about {{convert|30|km|mi|0}} wide and located at an altitude of {{convert|60|to|90|m|ft|0}} above sea level. Terre de Barre is another name for this region, in use because of the reddish leached soil which is rich in iron. This southern area of Togo has been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as part of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic ecoregion.

Northeast of the Ouatchi Plateau lies a tableland. At its highest this region is about {{convert|500|m|ft|0}} above sea level. The area is drained by the Mono River and its tributaries, including the Ogou River.

To the west and the southwest of the tableland lie the Togo Mountains. These mountains run across the central region of Togo, ranging from the southwest to the northeast. The mountain range reaches into Benin where it is known as the Atakora Mountains and Ghana where it is known as the Akwapim Hills. The highest mountain in Togo is Mount Agou with a height of {{convert|986|m|ft|0}}.{{Cite web |title=Mount Agou {{!}} Hiking, Nature Reserve & Wildlife {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Agou |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}

North of the Togo Mountains lies a sandstone plateau through which the Oti River flows. The vegetation is characterized by savanna. The River Oti which drains the plateau is one of the main tributaries of the River Volta.

In the far northwest of Togo lies a higher region which is characterized by its rocks: granite and gneiss. The cliffs of Dapaong (Dapango) are located in this part of Togo.

{{OSM Location map

| coord = {{coord|8.35|0.8}}

| zoom =7 | scalemark = 20

| width = 200 | height = 560

| caption = Map of Togo. The five Regions of Togo span its climatic zones from the coastal equatorial climate of the south to the tropical savanna at the north. Data for Lomé, Sokodé and Mango are shown in the climate tables

| mark-sizeD = 0

| label-sizeD = 13

| label-colorD = hard grey

| label-posD=top

| mark-coord1 = {{coord|6.866667| 0.75}}

| label1 = Mt Agou

| mark-size1=8

| label-size1=10

| label-pos1=right

| mark-title1 = Mount Agou

| mark-image1= Mt. Agou.jpg

| mark-coord2 = {{coord|6.1626|1.2385}}

| label2 =

| mark-size2=10

| mark-title2 = Lomé

| mark-image2= Quartier des administrations (Lomé, Togo).jpg

| mark-coord3 = {{coord|8.9833|1.1333}}

| label3 = Sokodé

| label-size3= 11

| label-offset-x3=11

| mark-size3=8

| mark-title3 = Sokodé

| mark-image3= Sokodé-centre-ville.jpg

| mark-coord4 = {{coord|10.357|0.47}}

| label4 = Mango

| label-pos4 = right

| label-size4= 11

| mark-size4=8

| mark-title4 = Mango

| mark-coord5 = {{coord|10.7524|0.15907}}

| label5 = Fosse aux Lions | labela5 = National Park

| shape5 = square

| shape-color5= dark green 50%

| label-color5= hard green

| label-size5 = 10

| label-pos5 = right

| label-offset-y5=4

| mark-size5 = 14

| mark-title5 = Fosse aux Lions National Park

| mark-image5 = La Cuesta de Bombouaka (Région de Tandjouaré).jpg

| mark-coord6 = {{coord|10.08|0.72}}

| label6 = Oti-Kéran| labela6 = National Park

| shape6 = square

| shape-color6= dark green 50%

| label-color6= hard green

| label-size6 = 10

| label-pos6 = right

| mark-size6 = 14

| mark-title6 = Oti-Kéran National Park

| mark-image6 = Keran National Park (31294475930).jpg

| mark-coord7 = {{coord|8.7|0.716667}}

| label7 = Fazao Malfakassa | labela7 = National Park

| shape7 = square

| shape-color7= dark green 50%

| label-color7= hard green

| label-size7 = 10

| label-pos7 = left

| mark-size7 = 14

| mark-title7 = Fazao Malfakassa National Park

| mark-image7 = Vue de la montagne à Fazao.jpg

| mark-coord11 = {{coord|10.794|0.44}}

| label11 = S a v a n e s

| mark-title11 = none

| mark-coord12 = {{coord|9.505|0.947}}

| label12 = K a r a

| mark-title12 = none

| mark-coord13 = {{coord|8.44|1.12}}

| label13 = C e n t r a l e

| mark-title13 = none

| mark-coord14 = {{coord|7.224|1.123}}

| label14 = P l a t e a u x

| mark-title14 = none|ldx14=4

| mark-coord15 = {{coord|6.384|1.287}}

| label15 = M a r i t i m e

| mark-title15 = none

| mark-coord16 = {{coord|11.211|0.430}}

| label16 = Burkina Faso

| label-color16 = black

| label-size16 = 12|label-spacing16=4

| mark-title16 = none

| arc-coordA = {{coord|9.667|-0.2}}

| arc-textA = Ghana

|arc-text-colorA = black

| arc-angleA = 60

| arc-gapA = 4.5

| arc-radiusA = 0.4

| arc-coordB = {{coord|10.262|1.484}}

| arc-textB = Benin

|arc-text-colorB = black

| arc-angleB = 60

| arc-gapB = 4.5

| arc-radiusB = 0.4

| arc-coordC = {{coord|5.55|0.487}}

| arc-textC = Bight of Benin

|arc-text-colorC = soft blue

|arc-text-sizeC-10

| arc-angleC = -20

| arc-gapC = 1.2

| arc-radiusC = 0.8

}}

Climate

Almost all of Togo has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). Average temperatures ranging from {{convert|27.5|°C|1}} on the coast to about {{convert|30|°C}} in the northernmost regions. There is a dry season between November and March dominated by the desert winds of the Harmattan, which bring less humid and less unpleasant weather. To the south there are two seasons of rain, the first between April and July and the second weaker rainy season between September and November. In this region rainfall is much lower than in the rest of southern West Africa due to divergent coast-parallel winds between mid-July and mid-September creating a short, foggy secondary dry season.{{cite book|last=Trewartha|first=Glenn Thomas|title=The Earth's problem climates|year=1961|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison, Wisconsin|isbn=9780299022709|page=108}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Lomé (Lomé Airport) 1961-1990, extremes 1892-present

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 35.7

|Feb record high C = 36.4

|Mar record high C = 36.3

|Apr record high C = 35.0

|May record high C = 34.8

|Jun record high C = 36.4

|Jul record high C = 32.8

|Aug record high C = 36.5

|Sep record high C = 35.5

|Oct record high C = 33.8

|Nov record high C = 38.1

|Dec record high C = 34.5

|year record high C = 38.1

|Jan high C = 31.7

|Feb high C = 32.3

|Mar high C = 32.5

|Apr high C = 32.1

|May high C = 31.3

|Jun high C = 29.6

|Jul high C = 28.2

|Aug high C = 28.0

|Sep high C = 29.1

|Oct high C = 30.4

|Nov high C = 31.6

|Dec high C = 31.6

|year high C = 30.7

|Jan mean C = 27.1

|Feb mean C = 28.2

|Mar mean C = 28.5

|Apr mean C = 28.2

|May mean C = 27.4

|Jun mean C = 26.2

|Jul mean C = 25.3

|Aug mean C = 25.2

|Sep mean C = 25.8

|Oct mean C = 26.6

|Nov mean C = 27.3

|Dec mean C = 27.1

|year mean C = 26.9

|Jan low C = 22.5

|Feb low C = 24.0

|Mar low C = 24.5

|Apr low C = 24.4

|May low C = 23.5

|Jun low C = 22.8

|Jul low C = 22.5

|Aug low C = 22.3

|Sep low C = 22.5

|Oct low C = 22.8

|Nov low C = 22.9

|Dec low C = 22.5

|year low C = 23.1

|Jan record low C = 15.2

|Feb record low C = 16.7

|Mar record low C = 19.9

|Apr record low C = 20.0

|May record low C = 19.2

|Jun record low C = 18.0

|Jul record low C = 16.7

|Aug record low C = 17.1

|Sep record low C = 18.0

|Oct record low C = 16.4

|Nov record low C = 18.6

|Dec record low C = 15.6

|year record low C = 15.2

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 8.9

|Feb rain mm = 23.1

|Mar rain mm = 53.4

|Apr rain mm = 96.1

|May rain mm = 152.7

|Jun rain mm = 251.8

|Jul rain mm = 91.0

|Aug rain mm = 32.7

|Sep rain mm = 64.7

|Oct rain mm = 74.6

|Nov rain mm = 20.4

|Dec rain mm = 7.8

|unit rain days = 1.0 mm

|Jan rain days = 0

|Feb rain days = 2

|Mar rain days = 3

|Apr rain days = 5

|May rain days = 9

|Jun rain days = 11

|Jul rain days = 6

|Aug rain days = 4

|Sep rain days = 6

|Oct rain days = 6

|Nov rain days = 2

|Dec rain days = 1

|Jan humidity = 79

|Feb humidity = 81

|Mar humidity = 82

|Apr humidity = 82

|May humidity = 84

|Jun humidity = 86

|Jul humidity = 87

|Aug humidity = 86

|Sep humidity = 86

|Oct humidity = 85

|Nov humidity = 84

|Dec humidity = 82

|year humidity = 84

|Jan sun = 222.4

|Feb sun = 214.8

|Mar sun = 228.0

|Apr sun = 218.0

|May sun = 217.8

|Jun sun = 141.3

|Jul sun = 135.4

|Aug sun = 147.5

|Sep sun = 168.4

|Oct sun = 218.0

|Nov sun = 240.6

|Dec sun = 227.2

|year sun = 2379.4

|source 1 = Deutscher Wetterdienst

{{cite web

| url = https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_653870_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Lomé (Flugh.) / Togo

| work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world

| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst

| language = de

| access-date = 18 December 2018}}

|source 2 = NOAA (sun 1961–1990),

{{cite web

| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/TG/65387.TXT

| title = Lomé Climate Normals 1961–1990

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201101210202/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/TG/65387.TXT

| archive-date = 2020-11-01

| url-status = dead

| access-date = 18 December 2018}} Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)

{{cite web

| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/station-811-Lome.php

| title = Station Lome

| publisher = Météo Climat

| language = fr

| access-date = 18 December 2018}}

}}

class="wikitable"

|+Lomé mean sea temperature

Jan

!Feb

!Mar

!Apr

!May

!Jun

!Jul

!Aug

!Sep

!Oct

!Nov

!Dec

{{convert|28|°C}}

|{{convert|28|°C}}

|{{convert|29|°C}}

|{{convert|29|°C}}

|{{convert|29|°C}}

|{{convert|28|°C}}

|{{convert|26|°C}}

|{{convert|25|°C}}

|{{convert|25|°C}}

|{{convert|27|°C}}

|{{convert|28|°C}}

|{{convert|28|°C}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Sokodé (1961–1990, extremes 1901–present)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|collapsed = yes

|Jan record high C = 40.5

|Feb record high C = 41.0

|Mar record high C = 40.5

|Apr record high C = 40.5

|May record high C = 38.0

|Jun record high C = 36.5

|Jul record high C = 38.5

|Aug record high C = 38.0

|Sep record high C = 35.7

|Oct record high C = 40.5

|Nov record high C = 39.9

|Dec record high C = 38.0

|year record high C = 41.0

|Jan high C = 34.1

|Feb high C = 35.5

|Mar high C = 35.4

|Apr high C = 33.9

|May high C = 32.3

|Jun high C = 30.4

|Jul high C = 28.9

|Aug high C = 28.6

|Sep high C = 29.7

|Oct high C = 31.8

|Nov high C = 33.7

|Dec high C = 33.6

|year high C = 32.3

|Jan mean C = 26.3

|Feb mean C = 28.0

|Mar mean C = 28.7

|Apr mean C = 27.9

|May mean C = 26.7

|Jun mean C = 25.5

|Jul mean C = 24.4

|Aug mean C = 24.0

|Sep mean C = 24.8

|Oct mean C = 25.6

|Nov mean C = 26.4

|Dec mean C = 25.9

|year mean C = 26.2

|Jan low C = 17.6

|Feb low C = 19.8

|Mar low C = 21.8

|Apr low C = 22.2

|May low C = 21.7

|Jun low C = 21.0

|Jul low C = 20.7

|Aug low C = 20.0

|Sep low C = 20.4

|Oct low C = 20.2

|Nov low C = 18.1

|Dec low C = 17.2

|year low C = 20.1

|Jan record low C = 10.0

|Feb record low C = 11.0

|Mar record low C = 15.8

|Apr record low C = 18.0

|May record low C = 18.0

|Jun record low C = 16.0

|Jul record low C = 16.0

|Aug record low C = 16.8

|Sep record low C = 15.5

|Oct record low C = 16.0

|Nov record low C = 11.0

|Dec record low C = 10.0

|year record low C = 10.0

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 4.9

|Feb rain mm = 17.4

|Mar rain mm = 65.7

|Apr rain mm = 103.0

|May rain mm = 138.8

|Jun rain mm = 186.5

|Jul rain mm = 233.1

|Aug rain mm = 246.2

|Sep rain mm = 252.8

|Oct rain mm = 117.0

|Nov rain mm = 19.7

|Dec rain mm = 11.7

|year rain mm = 1396.7

|unit rain days = 1.0 mm

|Jan rain days = 0

|Feb rain days = 1

|Mar rain days = 5

|Apr rain days = 8

|May rain days = 11

|Jun rain days = 13

|Jul rain days = 16

|Aug rain days = 18

|Sep rain days = 16

|Oct rain days = 8

|Nov rain days = 1

|Dec rain days = 1

|year rain days = 97

|Jan humidity = 35

|Feb humidity = 49

|Mar humidity = 64

|Apr humidity = 71

|May humidity = 76

|Jun humidity = 82

|Jul humidity = 84

|Aug humidity = 85

|Sep humidity = 86

|Oct humidity = 80

|Nov humidity = 69

|Dec humidity = 54

|year humidity = 70

|Jan sun = 262.9

|Feb sun = 243.1

|Mar sun = 235.0

|Apr sun = 214.7

|May sun = 220.2

|Jun sun = 174.8

|Jul sun = 124.7

|Aug sun = 110.4

|Sep sun = 135.5

|Oct sun = 213.9

|Nov sun = 250.6

|Dec sun = 256.0

|year sun = 2441.8

|source 1 = Deutscher Wetterdienst

{{cite web

| url = https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_653610_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Sokodé/Tchauodjo / Togo

| work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world

| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst

| language = German

| accessdate = 18 December 2018}}

|source 2 = NOAA (sun 1961–1990),

{{cite web

| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/TG/65361.TXT

| title = Sokode Climate Normals 1961–1990

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201031220837/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/TG/65361.TXT

| archive-date = 2020-10-31

| url-status = dead

| accessdate = 18 December 2018}} Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)

{{cite web

| url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/station-1564-Sokode.php

| title = Station Sokode

| publisher = Météo Climat

| language = French

| accessdate = 18 December 2018}}

}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Mango (Sansane-Mango) (1961–1990, extremes 1901–present)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|collapsed = yes

|Jan record high C = 40.9

|Feb record high C = 41.9

|Mar record high C = 44.4

|Apr record high C = 42.1

|May record high C = 41

|Jun record high C = 38

|Jul record high C = 36

|Aug record high C = 34.2

|Sep record high C = 34.4

|Oct record high C = 37.2

|Nov record high C = 39

|Dec record high C = 39.6

|year record high C = 44.4

|Jan high C = 36

|Feb high C = 37.8

|Mar high C = 39.1

|Apr high C = 38

|May high C = 35.5

|Jun high C = 32.2

|Jul high C = 30.5

|Aug high C = 29.5

|Sep high C = 30.6

|Oct high C = 32.9

|Nov high C = 35.7

|Dec high C = 35.6

|year high C = 34.5

|Jan mean C = 26.8

|Feb mean C = 29.4

|Mar mean C = 31.5

|Apr mean C = 31.4

|May mean C = 29.6

|Jun mean C = 27.5

|Jul mean C = 26.4

|Aug mean C = 26

|Sep mean C = 26.4

|Oct mean C = 27.9

|Nov mean C = 27.9

|Dec mean C = 26.7

|year mean C = 28.1

|Jan low C = 18

|Feb low C = 21

|Mar low C = 24.4

|Apr low C = 25.3

|May low C = 24.1

|Jun low C = 22.5

|Jul low C = 21.9

|Aug low C = 21.9

|Sep low C = 21.6

|Oct low C = 21.7

|Nov low C = 19.4

|Dec low C = 18.1

|year low C = 21.5

|Jan record low C = 12.1

|Feb record low C = 15

|Mar record low C = 18

|Apr record low C = 18.2

|May record low C = 18.9

|Jun record low C = 18.8

|Jul record low C = 18.8

|Aug record low C = 19.5

|Sep record low C = 17.4

|Oct record low C = 17.8

|Nov record low C = 14.5

|Dec record low C = 13.8

|year record low C = 12.1

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 0.2

|Feb rain mm = 4.1

|Mar rain mm = 28.6

|Apr rain mm = 66.1

|May rain mm = 106.1

|Jun rain mm = 136.6

|Jul rain mm = 195.9

|Aug rain mm = 236.7

|Sep rain mm = 235.5

|Oct rain mm = 69.1

|Nov rain mm = 5.5

|Dec rain mm = 3.4

|year rain mm = 1087.9

|unit rain days = 1.0 mm

|Jan rain days = 0

|Feb rain days = 1

|Mar rain days = 2

|Apr rain days = 4

|May rain days = 7

|Jun rain days = 10

|Jul rain days = 12

|Aug rain days = 14

|Sep rain days = 15

|Oct rain days = 6

|Nov rain days = 0

|Dec rain days = 0

|year rain days = 71

|Jan humidity = 27

|Feb humidity = 28

|Mar humidity = 40

|Apr humidity = 58

|May humidity = 69

|Jun humidity = 78

|Jul humidity = 83

|Aug humidity = 85

|Sep humidity = 84

|Oct humidity = 77

|Nov humidity = 54

|Dec humidity = 35

|year humidity = 59

|Jan sun = 269.7

|Feb sun = 246.4

|Mar sun = 254.2

|Apr sun = 237

|May sun = 251.1

|Jun sun = 216

|Jul sun = 170.5

|Aug sun = 148.8

|Sep sun = 171

|Oct sun = 257.3

|Nov sun = 273

|Dec sun = 257.3

|year sun = 2737.5

|source 1 = Deutscher Wetterdienst

{{cite web

| url = https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_653520_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Mango (Sansane-Mango) / Togo

| work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world

| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst

| language = German

| accessdate = 20 March 2023}}

}}

Environment

Current issues:

  • deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel
  • health hazards and impact on the fishing industry from water pollution
  • air pollution increasing in urban areas

Togo is party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution (MARPOL 73/78), Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of Togo, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

References

{{Reflist}}

{{CIA World Factbook}}{{Geography of Africa}}

{{Africa topic|Climate of}}

{{Togo topics}}