5 Facts of Gabon

The capital of Gabon is Libreville

Gabon is a country in western Central Africa. The country covers 270, 000 square kilometers. It is bordered by the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Gulf of Guinea. Over 1,5 million people call Gabon home. Once a French colony, the country became independent in August, 1960. The dominant language remains French, but there are numerous other languages spoken there.

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

Coastal Plains with its dense forest make up about 77% of Gabon's land area. Much if it is covered by coastal forests and mangrove swamps. The coastal plains run from 30 to 200 hundred kilometers from the shores of the Atlantic. The forests of Gabon with its 8,000 plants species, 200 species of mammals and 600 bird species rivals the Amazon forest in South America

2

The major mountain range in Gabon is the Cristal Mountain in the northeast Chaillia Massif in the center of the country, the Woleu-Ntem Plateau in the northwest and in the Bateke Plateau in the southeast. There are also several karsts, mountain-like structures made of limestone or Dolomite. Within these karsts there are hundreds of amazing caves. Many of the caves have never been explored.

3

The savannahs dominate the southeastern section of the country. The savannahs of Gabon hold some very rare plants. Today the savannahs are a major eco-tourism destination replete with elephants and gorillas. There are a number of excellent safari camps.

4

There are over 50 rivers in Gabon. The Ogooue River and its two major tributaries the N'Gounie River and Invindo River run through almost the entire country. The Gabon River in western Gabon, also called the Gabon Estuary, collects water from the Komo and Ebe Rivers. It provides a major port for the capital, Libreville.

5

The mining and production of petroleum and petroleum based products provides almost half of Gabon's revenue and represents over 80% of the country's exports. Research has revealed the amount of the country's other major natural resource, iron ore, to be the largest unexploited deposit in the world. Manganese mining and logging are two other major revenue earners in Gabon.