Geography of Liberia



Liberia is a sub-Saharan nation in West Africa located at 6 °N, 9 °W.

Area and boundaries

 * Area
 * total: 43000 mi2
 * country rank in the world: 102nd
 * land: 37190 mi2
 * water: 5810 mi2


 * Area — comparative:
 * Australia comparative: approximately $3⁄5$ larger than Tasmania
 * Canada comparative: approximately twice the size of Nova Scotia
 * United Kingdom comparative: slightly more than $2⁄5$ larger than Scotland
 * United States comparative: slightly larger than Virginia
 * EU comparative: approximately the size of Bulgaria


 * Land boundaries
 * total: 613 mi
 * border countries: Sierra Leone (185 mi), Guinea (367 mi), Ivory Coast (483 mi)


 * Coastline:
 * Atlantic Ocean 360 mi

Physical geography
Liberia extends from between 4.21°N and 8.34°N to 7.27°W and 11.31°W. It is roughly rectangular measuring about 510 km in length from northwest to southeast, with a width of about 275 km. The coastline is about 680 km, including river mouths ad inlets up to one kilometre wide.

Drainage of the whole country is direct to the sea, with a series of short rivers flowing directly into the sea. These are, from west to east, the Mano River on the border with Sierra Leone, the Mafa River, the Lofa River, the Saint Paul River, the Mesurado River, the Farmington River, the Saint John River, the Timbo River, the Cestos River, the Sehnkwehn River, the Sinoe River, the Dugbe River, the Dubo River, the Grand Cess River and the Cavalla River on the border with Ivory Coast.

In the west, the coast is low and sandy, but in the central and eastern parts of the country it is sandy and rocky and of moderate relief, frequently broken by the mouths of the rivers. The coastal plain varies in width, being narrow between Monrovia and Buchanan, but being much wider in the west and in the Cestos Valley in the centre, narrowing again in the eastern end of the country.

Further inland the land rises, sometimes with escarpments, to a plateau some 300 to 400 m above sea level. This is divided by the river valleys and there are hilly ridges between some of the river valleys. The land rises further in the north and northwest of the country, with mountains that exceed 1000 m in several places, the highest point in the country being in the Wologizi Range at 1440 m.

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


 * Northernmost point – unnamed location on the border with Guinea in the Sodia river immediately north of the town of Voinjama, Lofa County.
 * Easternmost point – unnamed headland at the confluence of the Cavally river and the Hana river, River Gee County.
 * Southernmost point – Kablaké headland, Maryland County.
 * Westernmost point - unnamed headland immediately west of the town of Sewulu at the mouth of the Mano River, Grand Cape Mount County.

Borders and maritime claims
The total length of Liberia's land borders is 986 mi: 190 mi with Sierra Leone on the northwest, 350 mi with Guinea to the north, and 445 mi with Ivory Coast. Liberia claims an Exclusive Economic Zone of 249,734 km2 and 200 nmi.

Terrain
Liberia has a mostly hilly terrain, it also has rolling plains along the coast to a rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.

Elevation extremes
The lowest point on Liberia is at sea level on the Atlantic Ocean. The highest point on Liberia is 1440 m above sea level at Mount Wuteve.

Natural resources
Natural resources that are found in Liberia include iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold and hydropower.

Land use and agriculture
arable land: 5.2% permanent crops: 2.1% permanent pastures: 20.8% forest: 44.6% other: 27.3% (2011)

Irrigated land
30 square kilometres of Liberia's land was irrigated as of 2012.

Natural hazards
The natural hazard that occurs in Liberia is a dust-laden harmattan wind that blows from the Sahara (December to March).