Geography of Uganda explained

1°N 32°WUganda is located in Eastern Africa, West of Kenya, South of South Sudan, East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and North of Rwanda and Tanzania. While much of its border is on lakeshores, Uganda is landlocked with no access to the sea port but it is a fertile and well-watered country that consists of many lakes and rivers including the largest, Lake Victoria. The country sits in the heart of the Great Lakes region, with Lake Edward, Lake George and Lake Albert on its Western border, Lake Kyoga in the Eastern part of Uganda. It is found in Central Saharan Africa and receives reliable rainfall throughout the year. Rivers are River Nile the longest river in Africa, River Kagera, River Katonga, River Semiliki and River Sezibwa.

The climate is tropical and equatorial as well with two dry spells (December to February, June to August).[1] While the Northeast of the country is semiarid and Districts falling prey include Moroto, Kabong, Nakapiripiriti, Karenga. The terrain of Uganda mostly consist of plateaus surrounded by a rim of mountains including the Rwenzori mountain range. Notable national parks include Bwindi, Rwenzori Mountains which has snow on its peak, Margherita, Kibale, Mgahinga National Park, Mount Elgon National game Park, Kidepo National game Park and Queen Elizabeth National game Park, with thick forests to modify climate and to mention; Uganda's plant cover is Savannah.However, Forests also act as a source of Herbal Medicine.Some geographical places like Jinja and Kapchorwa have water Springs like Muchsion falls, Bujagali falls, karuma falls and Sipii falls that aids Hydro Electric Power Generation and to cite out; Bujagali falls generates 5 MW that is exported to our physically disadvantaged neighbourhood in the names Rwanda and Burundi.Inselbergs are common features in the geography of Uganda. The inselbergs are commonly made of granite, sometimes of gneiss and never of amphibolite or volcanic rock.[2] Protruding quartzite hills tend to form ridges rather than "true inselbergs".[2]

Statistics

Area:[3]
total: 241551km2
land: 200523km2
water: 41028km2

Area comparative

Land boundaries:[1]
total: 2729km (1,696miles)
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 877km (545miles), Kenya 814km (506miles), South Sudan 475km (295miles), Tanzania 391km (243miles), Rwanda 172km (107miles)

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: 614m (2,014feet) Albert Nile at border with South Sudan[1]
highest point: 5111m (16,768feet)[3] Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley[1]

Natural resources:
copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land, gold[1]

Land use: (2012)[4]
arable land: 6900000disp=outNaNdisp=out (6900000disp=outNaNdisp=out) 34.41%
permanent crops: 2250000disp=outNaNdisp=out (2250000disp=outNaNdisp=out) 11.22%
forest cover: 2810000disp=outNaNdisp=out (2810000disp=outNaNdisp=out) 14.01%
other: 80931km2 40.36%

Irrigated land: (2012)[4]
14000disp=outNaNdisp=out (14000disp=outNaNdisp=out)

Total renewable water resources:
66km3 (2011)[5] or 60km3 (2012)[6]

Environment — current issues:
draining of wetlands for agricultural use, deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria, widespread poaching[1]

Environment — international agreements:
party to:

signed, but not ratified:

Geography — note: Uganda is one of six African states that lies on the equator. Most of Uganda lies north of the equator.

Climate

Uganda has a warm tropical climate with temperatures falling in the 25to range on an average. The months from December to February are the hottest, but even during this season the evenings can be pleasant with temperatures in the 17to range.[7]

Most of Uganda receives an annual rainfall of 1000to. The rainy seasons are from March to May and from September to November. During these months, heavy rains can make roads and terrains hard to traverse. The period from January to February and again from June to August are dry. In the north, there is only one rainy season from March to November, and a dry season from December to February.

Climate change

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Uganda . 2018-10-12 . The World Factbook . CIA . en.
  2. The Inselbergs of Uganda . Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie. Ollier. C.D.. 4. 43–52. 1. 1960. Cliff Ollier.
  3. Web site: "2014 Statistical Abstract", Uganda Bureau of Statistics, accessed 16 July 2015 . 16 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151123041504/http://www.ubos.org/onlinefiles/uploads/ubos/statistical_abstracts/Statistical_Abstract_2014.pdf . 23 November 2015 . dead .
  4. Web site: Uganda, Country Profile, FAO Stat, Food and Agriculture Organization, accessed 16 July 2015 . 17 July 2015 . 17 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150717195731/http://faostat.fao.org/CountryProfiles/Country_Profile/Direct.aspx?lang=en&area=226 . dead .
  5. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2201.html TOTAL RENEWABLE WATER RESOURCES, "The World Factbook", United States Central Intelligence Agency, 2011, accessed 16 July 2015
  6. http://knoema.com/atlas/Uganda/topics/Water/Total-Renewable-Water-Resources/Water-resources-total-renewable-natural "Uganda — Total Renewable Water Resources — Water resources: total renewable (natural)", World Data Atlas, knoema, based on FAO Aquastat, 2014, accessed 16 July 2015
  7. Web site: What is the weather, climate and geography like in Uganda. 2021-05-08. World Travel Guide. en-US.