Cameroon line

Map of the Gulf of Guinea, showing the chain of islands formed by the Cameroon line of volcanoes.

The Cameroon line is a geologic fault or rift zone that extends along the border region of eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon, from Mount Cameroon on the Gulf of Guinea north and east towards Lake Chad. It contains the Mbéré Rift Valley. It is characterized by a chain of mountain ranges and volcanoes known as the Cameroon Range or Cameroon Highlands. It was formed around 80 million years ago when the African plate rotated counter-clockwise. The resulting rift opened up magma conduits that allowed the line of volcanoes to form. Nine of the volcanoes along the line are considered active, with the last eruption occurring in 2000 at Mount Cameroon. Other mountains in the chain include the Bamboutos Mountains, Mount Etinde, and Mount Manengouba. Lake Nyos is a crater lake associated with the volcanism of the Cameroon line in northwest Cameroon. The portion of the rift extending into the Atlantic is responsible for the formation of a string of islands including Annobón, Bioko, Príncipe and São Tomé. These are also sometimes referred to as the Gulf of Guinea Islands.

In plate tectonics, a three-way junction of tectonic plates is referred to as a triple junction. The Cameroon line is a fracture beginning from a triple point of contact located some distance into the Atlantic. As this fracture did not continue all the way up to the European plate, this junction is an example of an aulacogen or failed arm of the triple junction.

The Cameroon Highlands are home to the Cameroon Highlands forests, a montane forest enclave of afromontane flora surrounded at lower elevations by the Lower Guinean forests near the coast, forest-savanna mosaic further inland, and Sudanian Savanna in the north. This area is also a distinct physiographic section of the larger Mid-African province, which in turn is part of the larger African massive division.

References

• Article by Steve Mattox and Chuck Wood - University of North Dakota
• Neba, Aaron (1999). Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon, 3rd ed. Bamenda: Neba Publishers.

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