Daily Almanac for
Nov 12, 2009
Search White Pages
Search: Infoplease Info search tips
Search: Biographies Bio search tips

Sponsored LinksTravel reviews & great deals at TripAdvisor:

Encyclopedia—Sierra Leone

Land

Sierra Leone's 350-mi (560-km) Atlantic coastline is made up of a belt (average width 30 mi/50 km) of low-lying mangrove swamps, except for the mountainous Sierra Leone Peninsula (on which Freetown is situated). The coastline is broken by numerous estuaries and has some wide, sandy beaches. Behind the coastal belt is a wooded plateau (average elevation: 1,000 ft/300 m). The eastern half of the country is mostly mountainous and includes Bintimane Peak, Sierra Leone's loftiest point (6,390 ft/1,948 m), located near the Guinea border. Several rivers, including the Great Scarcies (which makes up a section of the boundary with Guinea) and the Mano (which forms part of the border with Liberia), flow through the country to the Atlantic. The headwaters of the Niger River are situated in the mountains of the northeast. In addition to the capital, other cities include Bo, Kenema, and Makeni.

Sections in this article:

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark

Premium Partner Content
HighBeam Research

Related content from HighBeam Research on: Sierra Leone: Land

The devils dancing on the water; Sierra Leone.(In the Land of Magic Soldiers: A Story of White and Black in West Africa; The Economist's Tale: A Consultant Encounters Hunger and the World Bank)(Book Review) (The Economist (US))

Misreading the African Landscape: Society and Ecology in a Forest-Savanna Mosaic / Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth, and Resources in Sierra Leone / The Lie of the Land:... (Environmental History)

Rebuilding after war: Environmental education in Sierra Leone (Green Teacher)

Israeli industry urged to invest in Sierra Leone: at a seminar in Ramat Gan, Sierra Leone's Miniser of Mineral Resources called on Israeli diamond companies to take part in miniing and marketing rough diamonds from his country.. (Israel Diamonds)

Death and Diamonds [A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone] (Literary Review of Canada)

Labour-intensive growth is vital: the last UN peacekeeping troops pulled out of Sierra Leone at the end of 2005, signalling an end to the physical intervention of outside forces in the country's affairs. Can the country, now at peace, find the right economic formula to sustain peace and stability? Neil Ford discusses.(United Nations) (African Business)

Fuelling Africa's wars; Sierra Leone and Guinea; Fuelling Sierra Leone's war.(International)(Brief Article) (The Economist (US))

Disaster waits: Sierra Leone. (civil war looms between forces of overthrown government and military junta)(Brief Article) (The Economist (US))

Sierra Leone: the world's poorest nation. (Contemporary Review)

Going upstream in Sierra Leone.(Cover Story) (Israel Diamonds)

Additional search results provided by HighBeam Research, LLC. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.