Mount Kupe
- For the unit Kupe Kupe see (unit).
- For the asteroid Kupe, see ( 9487 ) Kupe.
- For the explorers from the mythology of the Maori, see Kupe.
Location of Kupe in southwestern Cameroon
The Kupe is an extinct stratovolcano on the border of the provinces of Sud -Ouest and Littoral, Cameroon. It reaches an altitude of 2,064 meters above sea level, is the highest mountain in the Bakossi Mountains and part of the Cameroon line. The nearest towns are Loum and Tombel. North of the Kupe is the Bambouto Massif ( 70 km ) northeast of the Manengouba (about 30 km ) and southwest of Mount Cameroon (approx. 90 km).
The Kupe is conically shaped with partially vertical cliffs, mainly as crystalline and basaltic rock layers. Between the communities Tombel and Penja project over 80 smaller, up to 50 meters high, volcanic cone on the mountain. The massif of Kupe covers an area of approximately 220 square kilometers and is covered with a dense tropical mountain rain forest, in which are known about 329 species of birds. Near the summit, the rain forests are interspersed with smaller grass savannas. The protection of the rain forest area with its high biodiversity is the destination of many national and international projects, of which Mount Kupe Forest Project of BirdLife International is the best known.
The rainforests of the Kupe are an important refuge for many endangered species of primates, including the drill ( Mandrillus leucophaeus ), the Western Beard guenon ( Cercopithecus preussi ) Rotnasenmeerkatze ( Cercopithecus erythrotis ), Large White nose monkey ( Cercopithecus inctitans ) Halsbandmangabe ( Cercocebus torquatus ), chimpanzees (Pan ) and the Preuss Colobus ( Piliocolobus prussie ).
The climate is tropical wet on Kupe hot with a rainy season from April to October, with the particularity that it is interrupted by a short dry season of one to two weeks in July. The long dry season lasts from November to February, the relative humidity is above 80% all year. Due to its location in the western Cameroon mountains receives the Kupe rainfall of about 4000 mm per year.
Belong to the ethnic groups of the Bakossi (western sector), Manehas and Bamuns (eastern sector): Around the Kupemassiv population of about 140,000 people (2001 version). Thus, the Kupe forms a boundary of the French-and English-speaking Cameroon. In recent years, increasingly move also Bamileke and other ethnic groups from the Bamenda Highlands around the Kupe. For the Bakossi the Kupe is a holy mountain, who has a supernatural aura and in the myths of the ethnic group plays a central role.