Geography
Sudan
is the largest country in Africa. It borders nine countries
– Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya
– and has a coastline on the Red Sea in the north-east.
The country is mostly a vast plain, broken by several mountain
ranges; the Jebel Marra in western Sudan is the highest range,
but the highest mountain is Mount Kinyeti Imatong, near the
border with Uganda. The Blue and White Niles meet in Khartoum
to form the Nile, which flows northwards through Egypt to
the Mediterranean Sea. |
Environment
Sudan’s rainy
season lasts for about three months (July to September)
in the north, and up to six months (June to November) in
the south. The amount of rainfall increases the further
south you go, from the very dry Nubian desert in the north
to swamps and rainforest in the south. The dry regions are
plagued by sand-storms, known as haboob, which can completely
block out the sun.
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In the northern and western semi-desert areas people rely
on the scant rainfall for basic agriculture and many are
nomadic, traveling with their herds of sheep and camels.
Nearer the Nile, there are well-irrigated farms growing
cash-crops. |
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During 1984/85, there was a severe drought
and crop-failure in the west of the country, which came to world-wide
attention through media coverage and the Band Aid fund-raising initiative.
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