Liberia: Description, History, ProblemsStarr, Frederick
History
Liberia: Description, History, Problems
Starr, Frederick
Liberia
part of Africa.”
2. Liberia is situated on the west coast of Africa, in the western part
of what on old maps was known as Upper Guinea. Both Upper and Lower
Guinea have long been frequented by European traders; different parts of
the long coast line have received special names according to the natural
products which form their characteristic feature in trade; thus we have
the Grain Coast, Ivory Coast, Slave Coast, Gold Coast. Liberia is the
same as the old Grain Coast and was so called because from it were taken
the grains of “Malagueta Pepper,” once a notable import in Europe.
Liberia has a coast line of some 350 miles, from the Mano River on the
west to the Caballa River on the east and includes the country extending
from 7° 33′ west to 11° 32′ west longitude, and from 4° 22′ north to 8°
50′ north latitude. Its area is approximately 43,000 square miles--a
little more than that of the state of Ohio.
3. The coast of Liberia is for the most part low and singularly
uninteresting. Throughout most of its extent a rather narrow sandy beach
is exposed to an almost continuous beating of surf; there is not a
single good natural harbor; where rivers enter the sea there is
regularly a dangerous bar; here and there, ragged reefs of rocks render
entrance difficult. There is no place where vessels actually attempt to
make an entrance; they regularly anchor at a considerable distance from
the shore and load and unload by means of canoes and small boats sent
out from the towns. At Cape Mount near the western limit of the country
a promontory rises to a height of 1068 feet above the sea. It is the
most striking feature of the whole coast. There is no other until Cape
Mesurado, upon which the city of Monrovia stands; it is a notable cliff,
but rises only to a height of 290 feet. At Bafu Point, east of the
Sanguin River, there is a noticeable height. These three, diminishing
from west to east, are the only three actual interruptions in the
monotonous coast line.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account