LOCATIONA AND SIZE

Upper West Akim District is located in the south western part of Eastern Region and has a total land size of about 342.3 km2. The district shared boundary with eight (8) districts thus, Ayensuano District, located on the east, West Akim Municipal to the north, Birim Central Municipal on the south-west, Agona East and Awutu-Senya West Districts on the west, Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal, Ga West Municipal and Ga South Municipal on the south-east.

Climate

The district lies within the wet-semi equatorial climatic zone which receives rainfall between 1238mm and 1660mm. This is characterized by a bi-modal rainy season which supports all-year round plant growth. The major rainy season is from March to June with the heaviest rainfall in June, and minor raining season from September to October.

Vegetation

The District lies within the semi-deciduous forest zone. The vegetation is mainly characterized by tall trees with evergreen undergrowth and contains valuable economic trees like Odum, Wawa, Sapele, Obeche, Onyina, Emire and others. Most of the trees shed their leaves during the dry season.  The district has broken forest on most hill tops, secondary forest on slopes and valleys, shrubs and bushes along the motor roads and main footpaths, thickets on the range facing the Adeiso Township and forest reserves. There are two major forest reserves, forest patches and sacred groves scattered all over the district. Notable ones can be found in towns such as Adeiso-Alafia called Korklofa, Okainkrom-Tigara and Afarikrom.

Topography and Drainage

The topography of the District is generally undulating with heights ranging between 60 meters and 460 meters above sea level. The Atewa Range runs through the east of the district and serves as a boundary between Upper West Akim District and Ayensuano District.  Below the Atewa Range is the river Ayensu which is the main river that drains through from Ayensuano District in the eastern part of the district to join the Central Region in the west. The District is also well drained by River Adeiso and River Asuokaw.

Geology and Soil

The District is largely underlined with granite and Birimain rock formation. The district also has different types of the soils at different locations. The Kumasi-Asuansi/Nta-Ofin, Nsaba-Swedru/Nta-Ofin and Bekwai-Nzima/Oda Soil Association is a type of soil that develops over granite and constitute the largest group of soils. This type of soil is grayish brown loamy soil overlying red clay soils and grey alluvial sand of thin layers.  The areas largely covered by this type of soil are Abamkrom and Kumikrom. This type of soil supports the cultivation of cocoa, coffee, rubber, oil palm, ginger, maize, cassava, plantain, and cocoyam. The soil is able to support the cultivation of dry season vegetables, soya bean, sugar-cane, sweet potato and rice.