II.

Land and Resources

Sudan has a maximum length from north to south of more than 2,250 km (1,400 mi); the extreme width of the country is about 1,730 km (1,075 mi). It is divided into three separate natural regions. Desert in the north, covering about 30 per cent of the country, gives way to a vast semi-arid Sahelian region of steppes and low mountains in central Sudan. In the south is a region of vast swamps (the Sudd region) and rainforest.

Most of Sudan comprises a flat, featureless plain. The Libyan Desert, a barren waste broken by rugged uplands, covers most of Sudan north-west of the Nile proper. The Nubian Desert lies in the region east of the Nile proper and the Atbara. The few uplands include the Red Sea Hills along the coast and the Nuba Mountains in the west-central area. Jebel Marra, an isolated extinct volcanic cone in the far west, is the highest point (3,500 m/11,500 ft). Kinyeti in the south, near the Ugandan border, is 3,187 m (10,456 ft) high.

A.

Rivers and Lakes

Major topographical features of Sudan are the River Nile, its headstreams the White Nile and Blue Nile (which meet at Khartoum), and the tributaries of these rivers. The White Nile crosses the country from the Ugandan border to its confluence with the Blue Nile, to form the Nile proper. The Blue Nile, the most important of the two headwaters in terms of the volume of water carried as well as the area of irrigated land watered, rises in the Ethiopian Plateau and flows across east-central Sudan. Of the Nile tributaries the most important is the Atbara, which also rises in the Ethiopian Plateau.

B.

Climate

Sudan has a continental tropical climate; only the Red Sea coast is affected by maritime influences. Seasonal variations are most sharply defined in the desert zones, where winter temperatures as low as 4.4° C (40° F) are common, particularly after sunset. Summer temperatures often exceed 43.3° C (110° F) in the desert zones, and rainfall is negligible. Dust storms, called haboobs, frequently occur in the hot summer months before the rains. High temperatures also prevail to the south throughout the central plains region, but the humidity is generally low, except along the Red Sea coast.

In the vicinity of Khartoum, the average annual temperature is about 26.7° C (80° F); annual rainfall, most of which occurs between July and September, is about 254 mm (10 in). Equatorial climatic conditions prevail in southern Sudan. In this region the average annual temperature is about 29.4° C (85° F), annual rainfall is more than 1,015 mm (40 in), and the humidity is excessive. Droughts and poor harvests are common outside the south and, as in the early 1980s, can lead to famine.

C.

Natural Resources

The primary natural resources of Sudan are water, supplied by the Nile system, and relatively fertile soils. However, problems in obtaining adequate supplies of drinkable water persist, as does desertification and soil erosion. Large areas of cultivable land are situated in the region between the Blue Nile and the Atbara in the east, and in the area between the Blue and White Niles, known as the Gezira (Arabic, “island”), in the centre of Sudan. Other cultivable land is found in the narrow Nile valley above Khartoum and in the valleys of the plains region. Irrigation is extensively employed; the Gezira, focus of the cotton crop, is the largest irrigated area under single management in the world, covering more than 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres). The country also has vast areas of grasslands and forests, including acacia forests in the Sahelian region, the source of gum arabic, which has been traded for more than 2,000 years.

Small deposits of minerals occur, the most important of which are chrome ore, copper, and iron ore. Petroleum was discovered in south-western Sudan in the early 1980s after nearly ten years of exploration by international oil companies.

D.

Plants and Animals

Vegetation is sparse in the desert zones of Sudan. Various species of acacia occur in the regions contiguous to the Nile Valley. Large forested areas are found in central Sudan, especially in the river valleys, although fuel-wood cutting and grazing has reduced their size considerably. Among the most common trees are the hashab, talh, heglig (Balanites Aegyptiaca), and several species of acacia, including sunt, laot, and kittr. Such trees as ebony, silag, and baobab are common in the Blue Nile valley. Ebony, mahogany, and other varieties of hardwood trees are found in the White Nile basin. Other species of indigenous vegetation include cotton, papyrus, castor-oil plants, and rubber plants.

Animal life is abundant in the plains and equatorial regions of Sudan. Elephants were once numerous in the southern forests but have been virtually exterminated in the civil war. Crocodiles and hippopotamuses abound in the rivers. Other large animals include giraffes and leopards. Baboons and monkeys, various indigenous species of tropical birds, and poisonous reptiles are also found; many migrant bird species are also seen, as the Nile is a major stopping point for birds migrating to southern Africa for the winter. Insects include seroot flies and tsetse flies, which infest the equatorial belt; mosquitoes are found over most of the country making malaria endemic.

E.

Environmental Concerns

Scarce resources, drought, and civil war have led to widespread famine and environmental destruction in Sudan since the 1990s. Only 73 per cent (1990-1998 estimate) of the population has access to a safe supply of fresh water.

Sudan suffers periodic famine due to poverty and drought. The long-running civil war exacerbated the shortage of food. Fighting displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians who relied on subsistence farming, preventing them from planting crops or tending livestock. Traditional fuels such as wood provide 76.5 (1996) per cent of Sudan's energy supply, and the demand for charcoal has led to the clearing of many Sudanese forests. Deforestation, overgrazing, and poor land management practices all speed the process of desertification, as the Sahara encroaches on to previously arable and forested land.

It has been estimated that there are more than 1 million land mines buried in Sudan, although Sudanese officials believe there may be as many as 3 million. Some were laid as a part of the desert warfare of World War II, while other mines were deployed during the country's more recent civil conflicts. Sudan has designated 3.6 per cent (1997) of its land as protected areas, although poaching threatens animal populations throughout the country.

Sudan has ratified international agreements protecting biodiversity, endangered species, and the ozone layer, and the country has signed treaties limiting nuclear testing and whaling. The country is party to the World Heritage Convention and the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Sudan also participates in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program.