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A BRIEF REVIEW OF UGANDA'S
GEOGRAPHY
BY
KIRUMIRA MARK 5 WEST, 1999.
LOCATION: Uganda's lies on the eastern
part of African continent. lies across the Equator and extends from 4 N
and 1 S and between 29.5 E to 35 E of the Greenwich. It's also landlocked.
TOPOGRAPHY: The lowest point of Uganda
comprises of L. Albert and the highest being Margherita, the peak
of mountain Rwenzori (5029m).
Generally the relief of Uganda comprises of the Highlands, Mountains,
Plateaus and Lowlands.
The Lowlands mostly consist of parts of the western arm of the Great
Eastern Riftvalley. It’s of great importance because pastoralism, fishing
and cultivation can be carried out.
The Plateau dominates much of Uganda as it’s 24 % of Uganda's total
land area.It’s high in the south and lower in the central part of Uganda.
Furthermore mountains of many kinds exist in Uganda for example block
and volcanic mainly .Block mountains include Rwenzori.
Volcanoes include ; Elgon, Mufumbiro and also those found in N.E Uganda.
These mountains expose beautiful scenery for example , Aretes ,Cirques,etc.
DRAINAGE: Uganda is endowed with a great
number of Rivers and Lakes.
The major lakes in Uganda include ; Victoria, Kyoga, Albert, George
and Edward and then rivers include; Nile, Aswa, Kafu, Katonga, Kagera,
etc. The largest of all lakes is L.Victoria with a total distance of 67,900
km and the longest river is R.Nile,which is also the longest in the world
(6,695km). It’s source is found at Jinja a town in eastern Uganda.
FORESTRY: Forest reserves in Uganda cover
8.1 % of the total land area.
It’s estimated that 10,000 ha.of artificial Eucalyptus,pines and cyprus
trees are
found in Uganda .savana wood lands dominate the vegtation stucture
of Uganda with 55%. .Major forests in Uganda include ;Mabira found in the
central region near Kampala, Bbudongo and Bugoma found in western Uganda
By analysing most forests are located inthe southwest, central and
western parts. Northern Uganda does not have good forests because of it’s
climate which is too hot and dry.
MINERALS . Uganda is blessed with a vast range of minerals like
Copper mainly mined in Kasese (western Uganda) Gold though in small deposits
in Northern Uganda Limestone mainly in Eastern Uganda Others include; Salt,
Phosphates, Mica, Talc, Zircon, Wolfram and Oil though not yet extracted
in L.Albert (western Uganda).
ECONOMY;Uganda basically depends on Agriculture. Major cashcrops
include;coffee,tobacco,tea& cotton. Research shows that Uganda’s GDP
increases annnually.
PEOPLE;Uganda is dominated by mainly BANTU Ethnic group of people.Major
tribes include;Baganda,Banyankole,Bagisu,Bamyoro,Acholi(Northern
Uganda) and the Karamojong(N.E Uganda).Present population is estimated
to be 21m people.
The percentage living in Urban areas is estimated to be 11% . |
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