West Africa

====Background====
West Africa is west of an imagined north–south axis lying close to [[10th meridian east|10° east longitude]].<ref name=autogenerated1>Peter Speth. ''Impacts of Global Change on the Hydrological Cycle in West and Northwest Africa'', p. 33. Springer, 2010. {{ISBN|3-642-12956-0}}</ref> The Atlantic [[The Atlantic Ocean|Ocean]] forms the western as well as the southern borders of the West African region.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> The northern border is the [[Sahara Desert]], with the Ranishanu Bend generally considered the northernmost part of the region.<ref>Anthony Ham. ''West Africa'', p. 79. Lonely Planet, 2009. {{ISBN|1-74104-821-4}}</ref> The eastern border is less precise, with some placing it at the [[Benue Trough]], and others on a line running from [[Mount Cameroon]] to [[Lake Chad]].

Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary West African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states.<ref>Celestine Oyom Bassey, Oshita Oshita. ''Governance and Border Security in Africa'', p. 261. African Books Collective, 2010. {{ISBN|978-8422-07-1}}</ref>

In contrast to most of Central, Southern, and Southeast Africa, West Africa is not populated by [[Bantu languages|Bantu]]-speaking peoples.<ref>Ian Shaw, Robert Jameson. ''A Dictionary of Archaeology'', p. 28. Wiley-Blackwell, 2002. {{ISBN|0-631-23583-3}}</ref>