Location and size

The Nabdam District is located in the Upper East Region of Ghana with its capital at Nangodi. It is bordered to the North by the Bongo District, South by the Talensi District, to the East by the Bawku West District and to the West the Bolgatanga Municipality. The District lies between latitudes 100 47° and 10 057° North and Longitudes 0031° and 1015° west. It has a total land area of 244.94km2.

Relief and drainage

The topography of Nabdam District is dominated by relatively undulating lowlands, and gentle slopes ranging from one percent to five percent gradient with some isolated rock out crops and some uplands slopes. It falls within the Birimian, Tarkwaian and Voltarian rocks of Ghana. The District has evidence of the presence of minerals like gold and the drainage system mainly through the Red and White Volta lake and their tributaries.

Climate

The climate of the District is tropical with two distinct seasons. The rainy season is erratic and runs from May to October each year and the dry season is characterized by warm and hazy weather with hardly any rains stretching from October to April each year. The mean rainfall ranges between 88mm-110mm but with an annual rainfall of 950mm. The area experiences a maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius in March and April and a minimum of 12 degrees Celsius in December each year.

Vegetation

The vegetation is guinea savannah woodland consisting of short widely spread deciduous trees and a ground flora of grass, which often gets burnt by fire during the long dry season. This situation affects the amount of rainfall in the area and hence the quantity of water underground. The extreme temperatures? and prolong dry season facilitate bush burning, affecting rejuvenation processes and promoting land degradation. As people try to cope during the long dry season, they attempt alternative livelihood means by depending on the environment. They adopt various unsustainable practices such as firewood harvesting, charcoal production and hunting with fire for bush animals among others. As a typical agrarian economy, the long dry season affects the food security of many families resulting in most people migrating to seek economic livelihood elsewhere in the region.