Contrast the Sokoto Plains with the Eastern... | WAEC SSCE - Geography - 1991

Question 1 Report

Contrast the Sokoto Plains with the Eastern highlands under the following headings

(a) relief and drainage

(b) resources and human activities

Answer

Contrast between the Sokoto Plains and the Eastern Highlands of Nigeria

(a) Relief and drainage

Sokoto Plains	Eastern Highlands
Extensive, low-lying gently undulating plains in the north-west, generally 250-350 m.	Rugged, high land in the east (Mambilla, Obudu, Adamawa) rising to over 1,800 m.
Drained by the Sokoto-Rima river system flowing north-westward to the Niger; rivers are seasonal.	Steep, deeply dissected slopes; source of rivers such as the Benue tributaries and Cross River; fast-flowing streams.

(b) Resources and human activities

Sokoto Plains	Eastern Highlands
Sudan-savanna grassland; fadama (flood-plain) farming of guinea corn, millet, rice and onions; cattle rearing; fishing along the rivers. Some phosphate/limestone.	Cool climate and montane grassland/forest; cattle ranching (Mambilla), tea and Irish potato growing, temperate crops, timber; tourism (Obudu ranch).

(c) Problems of development

Sokoto Plains	Eastern Highlands
Unreliable rainfall, drought and seasonal rivers; risk of desertification; sparse vegetation and thin soils; long distance from ports/markets.	Steep, rugged relief hinders road building and mechanised farming; isolation and poor accessibility; soil erosion on steep slopes; sparse population and few large markets.

Answer Details

Contrast between the Sokoto Plains and the Eastern Highlands of Nigeria

(a) Relief and drainage

Sokoto Plains	Eastern Highlands
Extensive, low-lying gently undulating plains in the north-west, generally 250-350 m.	Rugged, high land in the east (Mambilla, Obudu, Adamawa) rising to over 1,800 m.
Drained by the Sokoto-Rima river system flowing north-westward to the Niger; rivers are seasonal.	Steep, deeply dissected slopes; source of rivers such as the Benue tributaries and Cross River; fast-flowing streams.

(b) Resources and human activities

Sokoto Plains	Eastern Highlands
Sudan-savanna grassland; fadama (flood-plain) farming of guinea corn, millet, rice and onions; cattle rearing; fishing along the rivers. Some phosphate/limestone.	Cool climate and montane grassland/forest; cattle ranching (Mambilla), tea and Irish potato growing, temperate crops, timber; tourism (Obudu ranch).

(c) Problems of development

Sokoto Plains	Eastern Highlands
Unreliable rainfall, drought and seasonal rivers; risk of desertification; sparse vegetation and thin soils; long distance from ports/markets.	Steep, rugged relief hinders road building and mechanised farming; isolation and poor accessibility; soil erosion on steep slopes; sparse population and few large markets.

Contrast the Sokoto Plains with the Eastern highlands under the following headings (a) relief and drainage (b) resources and human activities (c) problems o...