This stop is most definitely the most naturally beautiful stop on the tour. Just outside of Abuja the capital of Nigeria, “ the Usman Dam is a manmade dam which supplies the federal capital territory of Nigeria with water and light.” (CNN iReport). The climate in which the Usman Dam is a tropical climate with high amounts of rain and humidity. It is set in a beautiful environment overlooking a beautiful body of water and a “unique rocky terrain” ( Gretchen Fogelstrom) and cool inviting waters all around. It is a reflection of all the natural beauty in Abuja, Lagos, and the rest of Nigeria itself. Nigeria is a country just under Saharan desert and is surrounded by a few countries including Benin, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. It is located right next to the Gulf of Guinea and has two major rivers which are the Niger river and Benue river which flow into the Gulf of Guinea and gives Nigeria vast areas of lush forest in the southern region.
Southern Nigeria is where most of the lush forest exists due to how close it is to the bodies of water that were mentioned earlier. Southern Nigeria also receives a large amount of rainfall reaching over 400 cm. This “arable land”(Stratfor Video) is what allows Nigeria to support Africa’s largest population of over 170 million people and growing at the fastest rate of any country in the world. This lush forest, however beautiful, now is rapidly depleting and turning into desert due to an effect called desertification, this leads to the type of land that can be seen in northern Nigeria.
The northern region of Nigeria is mainly savannah leading to much agriculture there. Northern Nigeria still has a rainy season like the southern region, but this rainy season is much shorter and the majority of it is dry with occasional droughts. The southernmost region of Nigeria or the Niger delta region has an “abundant reserve of oil and natural gas and other natural resources”(Stratfor Video). This is one of the reasons why Nigeria was sought after during the time of British Colonialism the effects of which can still be seen today. Usman Dam is located in central Nigeria inside the Federal Capital of Nigeria. The Federal Capital of Nigeria is an area founded in 1976, just 17 years after Nigeria gained its independence from Great Britain on October first 1960