Niger

Niger is a country in West Africa steppe, located between Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali and Nigeria.

Relief & Geography
Niger has always been a crossroads of trade between North Africa and Africa south of Sahara. With an area of 1,267,000 sq km, it is the largest country in West Africa. With a single strip of green to the south of the country and 80% from its territory divided between the deserts of the Sahara and Sahel, Niger is divided into three main areas:

* The southern Niger
* Aïr
* Tenere

The Niger southern or western Sudan savanna
This is a band 1300 km long following the Nigerian border to Mali. Its width does not exceed 200 km (N'Guigmi, Tanout, Tahoua, Mali). It is made for its wooded part of the larger species of trees and grass for his part of "elephant grass". The altitude varies from 200-400 meters and has a warm and dry.

This is the least part of the arid country. To the east, the reliefs of Damagaram. This region consists mainly of sandstone plateaux with veneers of sand, depressions and fossil valleys (dallols). To the west, the plateau is cut by the Niger River valley, the valleys of ancient dallols Bosso and Mauri.

The Aïr
It is a mountain located in north-west of the country, spread over 300 km from north to south and 200 km from east to west. It presents a set of high crystalline and massive volcanic emerging from an old basement. The altitudes often exceeding 1000 m: the culmination of the Air Mountains are Bagzane (2022 m) bordered on the south by the cliff Tiguidit, the area is sandy Ténéré, and west by the plain Talak and regions of the Azawak and Tamesna.

The Aïr this facies changed and the center of an area of hyper monotonous plains.

Tenere
It is the most north-east. It is a sandy plain hyper ending on the east by the cliff Kaouar and north by the plates Djado and Manguenna. This, with the Majabat al Kubra and the Libyan desert, the driest area of the Sahara today.

Climate
Located in one of the warmest and sunniest of the Earth, Niger has a largely desert climate and extremely dry. There are three climatic regimes: the regime arid Sahara to the north, the regime transition Sahelo-tropical region of the Air and the regime Sahel south. The climate is characterized by three seasons: hot (March to May), rainy (June to September) and cold (from October to February).

Culture
The "joking cousins" allows social groups to criticize without any hitch. Consequently, the Nigerian society is renowned for his tolerance, the various ethnic peacefully.

Languages
The official language of Niger is French. The national languages are then Hausa (56%), or Zarma Songhai (22%), Fula or Fulfulde (8%), or the tamajeq Tuareg (8%), Kanuri (5%), the Arabic dialect (1%) should be added also Gourmantché, the Tubu and Boudouma which are also languages spoken by a small proportion of the population.

Religion
The Nigerian society is divided into three major religious communities: Muslim (over 93%), Christian and animist. The followers of these three communities live together peacefully. Christianity has had a weak presence in Niger due to the Islamization of the former regions.

Wildlife
The Niger was once inhabited by animals such as elephants, lions and giraffes now endangered because of forest destruction and poaching. The last herd of giraffes in freedom of all West Africa is moving in the vicinity of the village of Kouré, 60 km from the capital Niamey.

The reservation "Parc du W" (because of the bumpy road taken by the river at this point) is riding on three countries: Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso. You can see many hippos that sometimes the dark, just sack the cultures of the riverside.

As features, we find some small animals endemic to an area, such as Crocidura Cinderella Lemniscomys linulus mammals, or as eight species of reptiles and three amphibians.

Archeology
Archaeologists have unearthed in Niger terracotta sculptures. The Air massif (northern region) and the Tenere Desert home to many petroglyphs.
Several dinosaur graveyards are scattered in the desert, including a site near the cliff Tiguidit south of Agadez. The National Museum of Niamey has booked a chalet in this topic. It is not uncommon in desert, crossing sites covered with flint arrowheads.