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PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Relief and Drainage

The Municipality lies within three physiographic regions namely the Southern Voltarian Plateau consisting of a series of escarpments. Notable among them is the Kwahu Scarp rising from 220m to 640m above sea level. This scarp has two prominent mountainous peaks- the Odweanoma and Apaku. The second physiographic region is the Forest Dissected Plateau which consists of steep sided Birimian rocks rising to heights up to 240m above sea level. The third physiographic region, the Plains, stretches into the Southern Voltaian Plateau, rising from 60m to 150m above sea level. Among the major rivers that drain the district are the Afram and Pra rivers. The river Afram is a major tributary of the Volta and flows through the northern border of the district with the Afram plains. The Pra River takes its source from Kwahu Twenedruase and flows through Kwahu Praso where it leaves the Municipality.


Climate

Kwahu South Municipality lies within the wet semi equatorial region. It experiences the double maxima rainfall pattern- major and minor seasons. The major rainy season starts from April, reaching its peak in July. On the other hand, the minor rainy season starts from September, ending in October/November. Annual average rainfall is between 1,580mm and 1,780mm. Rainfall intensity however, decreases towards the Voltarian Basin. Mean monthly temperature ranges from as high as 30°c in the dry season to about 26°c in the wet season. It is worthy to note that the relatively higher altitude has moderating influence on the local temperature. Relative humidity ranges between 75% and 80%.


Vegetation

The Municipality lies within the semi-deciduous forest zone. The vegetation is dense with most trees shedding their leaves in the dry season. Trees of economic value like Milicia excelsa(Odum), Sterculia rhinopetala(Wawa), Entandrophragma cylindricum(Sapele), etc are found in the forest. The forest is made up of three layers namely the upper, middle andlower layers. A greater part of the natural vegetation has been altered due to man’s activities on the land.

The forests however, are still in their natural state in the reserve areas. Some of the forests include the Southern scarp forest (146.38km2), Oworobong South forest (35.54km2) reserves among others. .

Together, the reserves cover a total of 181.92km2 according to recent records obtained from the Forestry Department of Kwahu South Municipality.


Soils

A classification of soils in the Municipality reveals that they belong to the Forest Ochrosols, and consist of fine sandy loams, congreational loams, non-gravel sandy clay loams and iron pans. These soils possess good chemical properties of clay and appreciable amount of humus, making them generally fertile for the production of both cash and food crops such as cocoa, coffee, plantain, yams, etc. From the above description of relief, drainage, climate, vegetation and soils, it would be realized that the Municipality has great potentials for agriculture, tourism and stone quarrying.







Date Created : 11/26/2017 11:59:58 AM