Bambouto massif

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The Bambouto massif, also called Bamboutos Massif, located in the southwest of Bamenda highlands, on the border of the provinces of Ouest and Sud- Ouest, Cameroon. Southwest of Bambouto massif are the volcanoes Kupe (approx. 70 km), Manengouba (about 40 km) and the Mount Cameroon (about 160 km).

The Bambouto massif is a volcanic mountain range, part of the Cameroon line and occupies an area of ​​approximately 800 km ². Its greatest height reached by the massif of Mount Mélétan, which has a summit elevation of 2,740 meters above sea level. Thus, it is after the Mount Cameroon and the Oku massif, the third highest mountain of Cameroon. In the center of the volcanic mountain range is a 13 x 8 km (110 sq km) wide caldera, which reaches a depth of 1,300 meters. To the north- east, the Massif goes into the Bamenda Mountains. The volcanic activity phases could be determined using radiometric studies with an age between 22.5 million to 500,000 years ago. The massif consists mainly of basalts, trachytes, ignimbrites, rhyolites and phonolites, these are constructed in layer steps of different thickness.

The climate of the Bambouto massif is called a temperate humid and warm with an average rainfall of 2,510 mm per year. The solid was until 100 years ago covered with a tropical rainforest, but this was cleared due to population increase, expansion of agricultural land and the introduction of the plantation economy. A 222 -acre rest of the rain forest has already been reported under German colonial administration as a nature reserve, is now under threat as strong. Accordingly, the populations of the Cross River gorillas, chimpanzees and drills are considered extinct. Other species such as the Bangwabuschsänger ( Bradypterus bangwaensis ) or the Four Jackson's Chameleon (Chamaeleo trioceros quadricornis ) apply in the territory as threatened with extinction.

The mountain is populated by the ethnic group of Bamileke, whose language is called Bomboutos dialect cluster within the Bamileke languages. Geographically, the culture Bamboutos massif belongs to the Cameroon Grasslands and is especially known for the characteristic masks. A particularly expressive occupied with glass beads elephant masks of the Aka - secret society apply. The population density is generally given as about 200 persons / km ².