Location and Size

The West Akyem Municipal is in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It lies between longitudes 0°25 minutes West and 0° 47 minutes West and latitudes 5°40 minutes North. It has an area of about 1,018 square kilometers. The Municipal capital, Asamankese, is located 75 kilometres North-West of Accra off the main Accra-Kimasi trunk road.The Municipal shares boundaries with Kwaebibrem District to the North, Birim South to the West, Agona, Ewutu Municipal and Ga East Municipal to the South, and Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar and Akwapim South districts to the East.

Topology and Drainage

The entire municipality falls within the moist semi-deciduous forest region, where different species of tropical wood with high economic value can be found. The municipal is generally well drained by many rivers and their tributaries.Notable among them are Ayenso, Suhum, Nyankumasu, Ntoasu, Krodan, Abukyen, Akora and Aburonsu. The relatively smaller streams include Aprokumaase, Ntunsua, Sukuntu, Wami and Kwadwoabe. The rivers are mostly perennial in regime due to the double maxima rainfall, which feeds them and thus are potential resources for irrigation and fishing.

Climate and Vegetation

The municipal lies within the West-Semi-Equatorial climatic zone which experiences substantial amount of precipitation. This is characterized by a bi-modal rainy season with rainfall amount of between 1,238mm and 1,660mm, which is high enough to support all year round plant growth. The major rainy season is from March to June with the heaviest rainfall in June.The second rainfall season is from September to October. The average temperature ranges between 25.2°C and 27.9°C. Relative humidity is highest during the rainy season. It ranges between 80-95% and 55-80% during the dry season.

The municipal falls within the semi-deciduous forest of the country. The vegetation is mainly characterized by tall trees with evergreen undergrowth and contains valuable and economic trees. Scattered patches of secondary forest are a characteristic of the vegetation.The economically valuable trees are Odum, Wawa, Sapele, Obeche, Onyina and Emire, to mention just a few. The Trees are now depleting. West Akyem Municipal has a large area of the forest reserve named Gateway Range Extension Forest Reserve which covers an area of about 42 kilometres square.

Geology and Soil

The municipal has well drained soils. The major soil types are developed from Birimian rocks, granitic rocks and from deposits from rivers.