Editing Central African Republic (section)

== Geography ==
{{main|Geography of the Central African Republic}}
[[File:Republique Centrafricaine - Boali - Chutes de Boali.jpg|thumb|Falls of Boali on the Mbali River.]]
[[File:CARvillagefromthesky.jpg|thumb|A village in the Central African Republic]]

The Central African Republic is a landlocked nation within the interior of the African continent. It is bordered by Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo. The country lies between latitudes [[2nd parallel north|2°]] and [[11th parallel north|11°N]], and longitudes [[14th meridian east|14°]] and [[28th meridian east|28°E]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/centralafricanrepublic/cfland.htm|title=Geography of Central African Republic, Landforms – World Atlas|last=Moen|first=John|website=www.worldatlas.com|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=27 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227210349/https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/centralafricanrepublic/cfland.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Much of the country consists of flat or rolling plateau [[savanna]] approximately {{Convert|500|m|ft|0}} above [[sea level]]. In addition to the Fertit Hills in the northeast of the Central African Republic, there are scattered hills in the southwest regions. In the northwest is the Yade Massif, a [[granite]] plateau with an altitude of {{Convert|1143|ft|m|0|order=flip}}. The Central African Republic contains six terrestrial ecoregions: [[Northeastern Congolian lowland forests]], [[Northwestern Congolian lowland forests]], [[Western Congolian swamp forests]], [[East Sudanian savanna]], [[Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic]], and [[Sahelian Acacia savanna]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{Cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref>

At {{Convert|622984|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=}}, the Central African Republic is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|world's 44th-largest country]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNData app |url=http://data.un.org/en/iso/ua.html |access-date=22 June 2022 |website=data.un.org |archive-date=7 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807093709/http://data.un.org/en/iso/ua.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Much of the southern border is formed by [[Tributary|tributaries]] of the [[Congo River]]; the [[Mbomou River]] in the east merges with the [[Uele River]] to form the [[Ubangi River]], which also comprises portions of the southern border. The [[Sangha River]] flows through some of the western regions of the country, while the eastern border lies along the edge of the [[Nile River]] [[drainage basin|watershed]].<ref name=":1" />

It has been estimated that up to 8% of the country is covered by forest, with the densest parts generally located in the southern regions. The forests are highly diverse and include commercially important species of [[Ayous]], [[Sapele|Sapelli]], and [[Sipo (timber)|Sipo]].<ref>[http://www.forestsmonitor.org/en/reports/540539 "Sold Down the River (English)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413014533/http://www.forestsmonitor.org/en/reports/540539 |date=13 April 2010 }}. forestsmonitor.org.</ref> The deforestation rate is about 0.4% per annum, and [[Illegal logging|lumber poaching]] is commonplace.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://carpe.umd.edu/resources/Documents/THE_FORESTS_OF_THE_CONGO_BASIN_State_of_the_Forest_2006.pdf/view |title=The Forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forest 2006 |access-date=6 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220052802/http://carpe.umd.edu/resources/Documents/THE_FORESTS_OF_THE_CONGO_BASIN_State_of_the_Forest_2006.pdf/view |archive-date=20 February 2011 }}. CARPE 13 July 2007</ref> The Central African Republic had a 2018 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 9.28/10, ranking it seventh globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{Cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2008, Central African Republic was the world's least [[light pollution]] affected country.<ref>National Geographic Magazine, November 2008</ref>

The focal point of the [[Bangui Magnetic Anomaly]], one of the largest [[Magnetic anomaly|magnetic anomalies]] on Earth, is located within the country's capital.<ref name="LPI">{{Cite journal|author=L. A. G. Antoine|author2=W. U. Reimold|author3=A. Tessema|url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc99/pdf/5087.pdf|title=The Bangui Magnetic Anomaly Revisited|journal=Proceedings 62nd Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting|volume=34|pages=A9|access-date=23 June 2014|bibcode=1999M&PSA..34Q...9A|year=1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110090250/http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc99/pdf/5087.pdf|archive-date=10 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
{{main|Climate of the Central African Republic}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map CAF present.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Köppen climate classification]] map of the Central African Republic]]
The climate of the Central African Republic is generally [[Tropics|tropical]], with a [[wet season]] that lasts from June to September in the northern regions of the country, and from May to October in the south. During the wet season, rainstorms are an almost daily occurrence, and early morning [[fog]] is commonplace. Maximum annual precipitation is approximately {{Convert|71|in|mm|order=flip}} in the upper Ubangi region.<ref>''Central African Republic: Country Study Guide volume 1'', p. 24.</ref>

The northern areas are hot and humid from February to May,<ref>{{Cite book
  |editor=Ward, Inna
  |title=Whitaker's Almanack
  |edition=139th
  |page=[https://archive.org/details/whitakersconcise00inna/page/796 796]
  |publisher=A & C Black
  |location=London
  |year=2007
  |isbn=978-0-7136-7660-0
  |url-access=registration
  |url=https://archive.org/details/whitakersconcise00inna/page/796
  }}
</ref> but can be subject to the hot, dry, and dusty [[trade wind]] known as the [[Harmattan]]. The southern regions have a more equatorial climate, but they are subject to [[desertification]], while the extreme northeast regions of the country are a [[steppe]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SmmUAgAAQBAJ&q=extreme+northeast+regions+of+the+country+are+already+desert.+central+african+republic&pg=PA115|title=African Folklore: An Encyclopedia|last1=Peek|first1=Philip M.|last2=Yankah|first2=Kwesi|date=March 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135948733|access-date=9 November 2020|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414134541/https://books.google.com/books?id=SmmUAgAAQBAJ&q=extreme+northeast+regions+of+the+country+are+already+desert.+central+african+republic&pg=PA115|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Biodiversity ===
{{main|Wildlife of the Central African Republic}}
[[File:Dzanga.jpg|right|thumb|[[Dzanga-Sangha Reserve]]]]
In the southwest, the Dzanga-Sangha National Park is located in a rain forest area. The country is noted for its population of [[forest elephant]]s and [[western lowland gorilla]]s. In the north, the [[Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park]] is well-populated with wildlife, including [[African leopard|leopards]], [[Central African lion|lions]], [[Sudan cheetah|cheetahs]] and [[Rhinoceros|rhinos]], and the [[Bamingui-Bangoran National Park]] is located in the northeast of the Central African Republic. The parks have been seriously affected by the activities of poachers, particularly those from [[Sudan]], over the past two decades.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2017-06-wildlife-northern-central-african-republic.html|title=Wildlife of northern Central African Republic in danger|website=phys.org|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919205622/https://phys.org/news/2017-06-wildlife-northern-central-african-republic.html|archive-date=19 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the Central African Republic [[forest cover]] is around 36% of the total land area, equivalent to 22,303,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 23,203,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 22,301,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 2,000 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 9% was reported to be [[primary forest]] (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity). For the year 2015, 91% of the forest area was reported to be under [[State ownership|public ownership]] and 9% [[Private property|private ownership]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content |title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Central African Republic |url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/CAF/home/overview |website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref> In 2021, the rate of [[deforestation]] in the Central African Republic increased by 71%.<ref>{{cite news |title=Deforestation Surges in World's No. 2 Tropical Forest |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-10/deforestation-surges-in-world-s-no-2-tropical-forest-congo-basin?leadSource=uverify%20wall |work=Bloomberg |date=10 November 2022}}</ref>
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