Geography of Lagos

Travel & LeisureTravel Spot

  • Author Christina Xio
  • Published May 27, 2011
  • Word count 493

Lagos is the capital of Nigeria and most populous city. It is the most important city of Nigeria with respect to economy. Most of the population lives on the mainland of Lagos and most industries are located there too. Lagos is known for its music and night life, which used to be located in areas around Yaba and Surulere. This is the main source of revenue generation for the people living in Lagos. In recent years more night clubs have sprung on the island making the island and in particular Victoria Island, the main nightlife attraction.

Lagos Mainland districts include Ebute-Meta, Surulere, Yaba (location of the University of Lagos) and Ikeja, site of Murtala Mohammad International Airport and capital of Lagos State. Greater Lagos includes Mushin, Maryland, Somolu, Oshodi, Oworonsoki, Isolo, Ikotun, Agege, Iju Ishaga, Egbeda, Ketu, Bariga, Ipaja, Ajah and Ejigbo. The city of Lagos lies in south-western Nigeria, on the Atlantic coast in the Gulf of Guinea, west of the Niger River delta, located on longitude 3° 24' E and latitude 6° 27' N. On this stretch of the high-rainfall West African coast, rivers flowing to the sea form swampy lagoons like Lagos Lagoon behind long coastal sand spits or sand bars.

Some rivers, like Badagry Creek, flow parallel to the coast for some distance before exiting through the sand bars to the sea. The two major urban islands of Lagos in Lagos Lagoon are Lagos Island and Victoria Island. These islands are separated from the mainland by the main channel draining the lagoon into the Atlantic Ocean, which forms Lagos Harbour. The islands are separated from each other by creeks of varying sizes and are connected to Lagos Island by bridges. The smaller sections of some creeks have been sand filled and built over. This city is known as the heart of Nigeria and for all the right reasons. Lagos has a tropical savanna climate that is similar to that of the rest of southern Nigeria. There are two rainy seasons with the heaviest rains falling from April to July and a weaker rainy season in October and November. There is a brief relatively dry spell in August and September and a longer dry season from December to March. This shows that extreme weather conditions are present in Lagos. Monthly rainfall between May and July averages over 300 mm while in August and September it is down to 75 mm and in January as low as 35 mm.

The main dry season is accompanied by winds from the Sahara Desert which between December and early February can be quite strong. The average temperature in January is 27°C and for July it is 25°C. On average the hottest month is March with a mean temperature of 29°C while July is the coolest month but still there doesn’t exist much of the hot months. It is among those cities which have pleasant weather whole of the year and extreme rainfalls for more than 5 months and year.

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