Oku
Oku is a mountain range in the Bamenda highlands , in the Cameroonian province of North-Ouest . The inhabitants of the mountains and their language are also called Oku.
The mountain region is best known as a volcanic field , which, in addition to the 3,011 m high Mount Kilum (also known as Mount Oku), contains several cinder cones and maars , of which Lake Manoun and Lake Nyos are the most famous. The highest lake in the mountains, the Oku Lake , is less well known . This is only a few kilometers from the summit of Kilum. The mountain range of the Oku Mountains has a base diameter of approx. 100 kilometers and is part of the volcanic chain of the Cameroon Line . In the southwest of the Oku Mountains, the Bamenda Mountains join, which are a connection to the Bambouto massif .
The highest mountain rainforests in West and Central Africa are in the Oku Mountains . These are dominated by the tree species Carapa procera , Schefflera abyssinica , Schefflera mannii and Syzygium guineense bamendae . The tree species Podocarpus latifolius can also be found in the higher regions of the mountains and, from approx. 2600 meters above sea level, there are also extensive bamboo forests . These rainforests are under nature protection as Kilum-Ijim Forest Conservation Area from 2200 meters above sea level .
The region attracted international attention with the Nyos tragedy on August 21, 1986, in which a gas eruption caused large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to escape from the crater lake, killing around 1700 residents of the surrounding villages.
The next larger city already outside the region is Bamenda .
Web links
- Oku volcanic field in the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution (English)
- The zoological significance of the Oku Mountains in the Bamenda-Banso-Hochland (Western Cameroon) Author: M. Eisentraut 1968 (PDF document; 2.3 MB) German
- Explore Lake Oku Cameroon and Enjoy the Beauty of Nature (English)
- BirdLife International: CM 22 Mount Oku (English)
Coordinates: 6 ° 11 ′ 59 ″ N , 10 ° 31 ′ 7 ″ E