Location and Size

Chereponi District is one of the twenty (26) administrative districts in the Northern region of Ghana. It is located between latitudes 10°10¹S and10° 20

Topology and Drainage

The topograhy of the District is undulating with few hills, which provide a good flow for run-off water. The District is underlain by Voltain rocks normally suitable for rural water supply – boreholes. The soils are quite good along valleys.

During the raining season, water normally drains to the Oti River, as well as dams and streams present in the district. There are although many incidences of large quantities of water that collects on roadsides, washing roads out or pooling to prevent proper transportation.

Climate and Vegetation

The District is located in the savannah ecological zone. The climate is characterized by alternative wet and dry seasons of equal lengths of six months. Annual rainfall is about 1000mm or less, falling between May and October. A long dry period follows the end of the rains from November to April. Temperature, which is generally high throughout the year, ranges between 21° C and 41° C.

The Guinea Savannah vegetation is degraded in several locations. These areas include areas where agricultural activity is currently high and severely degraded lands that have been become uncultivable because of iron pan or where the soils are shallow due to rockiness. Trees sparsely populate such areas. Vegetation is grass interspersed with drought resistant trees. The common tree species are the “Dawadawa” and Shea trees. The vegetation is greenish only in rainy season and very dry in the harmatan period.

Geology and Soil

The Voltain shale underlies the whole District. From literature, most of the soils in the interior savannah and the transitional zones developed over shale, which contains abundant iron concretions and iron pan in their sub-soils. These soils constitute the groundwater laterite and occupy about 50% of the interior savannah (Adu, 1969). The groundwater laterite, due to impervious iron pan or clay pan in the sub-soil is characterized by water logging at the peak of the rains.

The soils are quite good along the valleys. Alluvial valleys suitable for rice production exist in some areas of the District. There is considerable soil erosion in the District. This is due to bad farming practices and rampant bush burning.