Obudu-Plateau
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F The Obudu Plateau is a highland plateau in the northeast of the state of Cross River, southwest Nigeria. This highland region is a western continuation of the Bamenda Highlands, on the border with Cameroon.
The cireca 103 km ² large mountain plateau reaches an average height of 1,500 meters above sea level, with some mountains rise to about 1,700 meters above sea level. Thus, it includes not only the Mambilla Plateau and the Bauchiplateau to the highest elevations of Nigeria. It consists of a mixture of basalt, granite, slate, gneiss rocks and emerged in the structure of the bulging of the chain of volcanoes along the Cameroon line. The age of the basaltic Doleritgesteine could be dated to an age of 140 million years, this break as Dykes the Precambrian bedrock. Due to the high rainfall is subject to the rocks of the plateau a lateritic weathering.
Internationally became the Obudu Plateau by the Obudu Mountain Run and the presence of minor populations of the endangered primates of the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli ) and Preuss - tailed monkey ( Cercopithecus preussi ).
The Obudu Plateau has its elevated location a temperate climate, reaching the daily average temperatures between 15 to 22 ° C, during the rainy season of the West African monsoon to August, while at night the temperature can drop to 5 ° C in July. The annual rainfall is about 4,300 mm.
The flora and fauna of the plateau is one of the richest ecosystems in Nigeria. Partly it is through a mountain rain forest, which is interspersed with grass and bush savannah. In the forests can be numerous types of figs ( Ficus sp. ) Of up to 30 meters high tree fern Cyathea Polyscias fulva and the manniana find. The trees are often decorated with epiphytes.
A total of 155 species of birds including the Bar-tailed Trogon ( Apaloderma vittatum ), Kehl binding Woodpecker ( Campethera tullbergi ) Bergwaldbülbül ( Andropadus tephrolaemus ) Baglafechtweber were registered on the plateau, ( Ploceus Baglafecht ) Kamerunrötel ( Cossypha isabellae ).
Until the 1950s the Obudu Plateau was considered uninhabited, first through the creation of a state-owned hotel was opened in 1959 and built the first roads. Since the population pressure on the natural increased more and more and the ecosystems of the plateau were more fragmented. However, new species could be discovered again and again, as in 2011 a new species of frog of the genus Phrynobatrachus ( family of True frogs) have been described.