Wum
Wum is a town and commune in Cameroon. It is the capital of Menchum division in the Northwest Province.
Wum is the third biggest town in the north west region of Cameroon. It lies on a plateau at an elevation of about 1100 m near the edge of the western highlands of Cameroon. It is 80 km north of the regional capital Bamenda (by dirt road). It lies near Lake Wum, one of five small crater lakes within 15 km of the town in the hilly, volcanic landscape. Lake Nyos, a crater lake from which a limnic eruption killed nearly 2,000 people in 1986, is 25 km to the east.
Wum is the third biggest town in the north west region of Cameroon. It lies on a plateau at an elevation of about 1100 m near the edge of the western highlands of Cameroon. It is 80 km north of the regional capital Bamenda (by dirt road). It lies near Lake Wum, one of five small crater lakes within 15 km of the town in the hilly, volcanic landscape. Lake Nyos, a crater lake from which a limnic eruption killed nearly 2,000 people in 1986, is 25 km to the east.
Map - Wum
Map
Country - Cameroon
Flag of Cameroon |
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad, and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões (Shrimp River), which became Cameroon in English. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, it was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the 1950s, leading to the national liberation insurgency fought between French and UPC militant forces until early 1971. In 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent, as the Republic of Cameroun, under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The federation was abandoned in 1972. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and back to the Republic of Cameroon in 1984 by a presidential decree by president Paul Biya. Paul Biya, the incumbent president, has led the country since 1982 following Ahidjo's resignation; he previously held office as prime minister from 1975 on. Cameroon is governed as a Unitary Presidential Republic.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
XAF | Central African CFA franc | Fr | 0 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
EN | English language |
FR | French language |