Location and Size

Size 1,876 square kilometres

Location

The Municipality is located in the north-western part of the Eastern Region. It shares common boundaries with Sekyere East District to the north, Asante Akim North and Asante Akim South Municipalities to the west, Kwahu Afram Plains District to the east and Birim North, Abuakwa South Municipal and Fanteakwa South District to the south. Specifically, it lies between latitude 6o 30o N and 7o N and longitude 0o 30o W and 1o W. It covers a total land area of 1,462km2.

Topology and Drainage

Drainage

The Municipality lies within three physiographic regions namely the southern voltaian Plateau consisting of a series of escarpments, notable among which is the Kwahu scarp rising from 220m to 640m above sea level. This scarp has two prominent mountains namely the Odwenanoma and Apaku. The second physiographic region is the Forest Dissected Plateau which consists of steep-sided Birimian rocks rising to heights up to 240m.Thirdly, the plains which stretches into the southern Voltaian Plateau and rises from 60m to 150m above sea level.

Among the major rivers that drain the Municipality are the Afram and Pra rivers. The river Afram is a major tributary of the Volta and flows through the northern border of the Municipality with the Afram Plains. The Pra River take its source from the Kwahu scarp in the Municipality. The Pra river take its source from Kwahu Twenedruase and flows through Akwasiho and Kwahu Praso where it leaves the Municipality. The Volta Lake is an important resource which provide employment to many fishermen and fish mongers who have settled along the lake. Communities such as Adawso, Nketepa, Kotoso, Sempoa and Dadeso Wireko are well noted for their fishing activities. It could be a major source of irrigation for the production of vegetables all year round.

Waterfalls found in the Municipality include the Oworobong, Oku Abena and Buku located at Oworobong, Bokuruwa and Kwahu Tafo respectively. These have the potential of being developed into tourist sites for both domestic and foreign purposes. A number of springs are found in the district eg Asuo Yaa at Obomeng. Though majority of these springs are seasonal in character, further investigation into them could result in their exploitation for the production of mineral water.

Topography

The topography consists of the Southern Voltaian Plateau, the forest-dissected plateau and the Voltaian basin. The Southern Voltaian Plateau, otherwise known as the Kwahu Scarp, rises to heights of about 220m to 640m above sea level. The forest dissected plateau also rises to height of about 240m, while the Voltaian basin is Afram, a tributary of the Volta and Pra, which takes its source from the Municipality.

Climate & Vegetation

Climate

Kwahu South Municipality lies within the west Semi-Equatorial region. It experiences the double maxima rainfall pattern namely the major and minor rainy seasons. The major rainy season starts from April and ends in July. On the other hand, the minor rainy season starts from September, ending in October. Annual average rainfall is between 1580mm and 1780mm. Rainfall intensity however, decreases towards the Voltaian basin. Mean monthly temperature ranges from as high as 30oc in the dry season but declines to about 26 oc 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 in terms of tree coverage with most trees shedding off their leaves in the dry season. Trees of economic value like Odum, Wawa, Sepele, etc. are found in the forest. The forest is made of three layers namely the upper, middle and lower layers. A greater part of the natural vegetation has been altered due to many activities on the land. The forest however, remains in their natural state in the five (5) reserve areas namely the Southern Scarp Forest, Oworobong South, Abisu, Northern Scarp West, Oworobong South, Northern scarp West and Oworobong North Forest reserves. Together, the reserves cover a total of 37, 070 hectares of land.

Geology and Soil

Soils belong to the forest ochrosols and consist of fine sand loams, congregational loams, non-gravel sandy clay loams and iron pan soils. These soils posses 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, cassava, yams, etc.