TOPOGRAPHY

The coast of Benin is a long sandy strip with no natural harbors. It is bordered by a network of shallow lagoons that communicate with one another. Moving towards the interior of the land, there are fertile lowlands suitable for intensive cultivation. The rest of the country is made of a crystalline plateau with low productive soils, dominated to the northwest by the Atakora Mountains culminating at 530 m.

MAIN LAKES AND WATERCOURSES

The main rivers in northern Benin are the Niger River, along a part of the Niger border, and its affluents, the Sota, the Mekrou and the Alibori. The Oueme and the Couffo drain most of southern Benin, while the Mono, on the border of Togo, waters the southwest of the country.

CLIMATE

The climate is of equatorial type in the south of the country. It becomes tropical and more and more arid as you travel to the north. The south receives about 1300 mm of precipitation per year, especially from March to July and from September to November. The monthly average temperature varies between 20 and 34 ° C. Temperatures are also high in the north and annual precipitation (about 890 mm) occurs mainly from May to September.