Maritime Guinea
Lower Guinea, with its 36,000 km2, is the smallest region in the country but certainly not the least rich. With a depth of 150 to 200 km and a width of about 280 km, including as much coastline, this strip of territory formerly called Rivières du Sud is divided by multiple rivers and ríos that seek more or less directly to reach the ocean. White sandy beaches and mangroves share this coastal strip, with the foothills of the Fouta massif in the background, represented by Mount Kakoulima and Mount Gangan, a little further back. Between the two, the alluvial plains are very favorable to crops, whether commercial (pineapples, oil palms, bananas) and/or food crops (rice for the most part). Unfortunately, little by little, these crops come to nibble on the territory of the mangrove, making disappear little by little an ecosystem however incredibly varied. Forming a peninsula that juts out into the ocean, Conakry, the capital, seems very cramped on this strip of land, which extends into the sea by the archipelago of the Loos Islands. These islands lined with beaches of blond or red sand are an invitation to idleness, far from the agitation of the capital. The subsoil is also extremely rich and terribly coveted because it contains the world's first reserves of bauxite, the raw material for aluminum. Little by little, the exploitation of this ore, which is done in the open air, transforms the landscape, while creating serious environmental problems.
Middle Guinea
Towards the northeast, the peaks that served as a backdrop to the alluvial plains become clearer. The altitude quickly exceeds 700 m and the first cliffs mark the entrance to Fouta Djalon. This massif covers most of the 64,000 km² of Middle Guinea, even if it is also partly made up of low-lying plains towards the Senegalese borders. The altitude is often higher than 1,000 m and gives the region its particular climate with temperatures that can reach 10°C during the rainy season. Mount Loura, famous for "the Lady of Mali", which reaches 1,515 m, is the summit. The soils are quite poor with rocks outcropping everywhere and forming bowls, totally uncultivable. Although crops such as potatoes and rice have been developed in some plains, as well as market gardening, most of the territory remains very uneven and covered with shrubby savannah and grasslands more suitable for livestock. The Fulani who occupy this territory have found it a favorable terrain for their herds. Fouta, sometimes called the water tower of West Africa, is the cradle of major rivers in the sub-region. The Gambia and the Senegal, through its tributaries the Bafing and the Bakoye, draw their life force from there, but also the Konkouré and its tributary the Kakrima which flow from north to south towards the coast. Everywhere, the waterways lined with gallery forests stripe and organize the territory and sometimes magnify it through majestic waterfalls.
Upper Guinea
Leaving the Fouta Djalon massif towards the east, the relief quickly flattens out and the territory of the shrubby savannah comes into view. Here, on this vast plateau of a little more than 100 000 km², the altitude varies between 200 and 400 m. The vegetation is very scattered and is a tangle of tall grass, shrubs and trees. Kapok trees, neres (whose flowers, large red pompons, appear from February to May and whose seeds are the basis of the famous soumbara), mango trees and other flamboyant trees thrive on land that is not very hospitable, with temperatures often exceeding 40°C and regularly subjected to fire to prepare seasonal crops. The shea tree, whose roasted nut is crushed and transformed into butter to moisturize the body and hair, is emblematic of the region. As for the cheese trees, which are draped in huge pleated togas adjusted to their gigantic size, they are the benevolent watchmen of the Mandingo villages, sometimes guarding the entrance, sometimes standing in the middle of the village square and offering their shade to the inenarrable palaver of the elders.
Here the rivers are called Tinkisso, Milo and Sankarani, all devoted to the most majestic of them all, the Niger, which they water with their streams all year round. But unlike Fouta, the rivers seem to take their time and sometimes bask in a certain languor, in the middle of the sandbanks. The overwhelming heat, especially during the dry season, greatly reinforces this impression.
Forest Guinea
With Guinea Forestière wedged between the borders of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire in the southeast of the country, once again the mid-range mountain peaks appear on the horizon. With an average altitude of 500 m, the region is dominated on the one hand by the Mount Simandou massif on the outskirts of Beyla, and on the other hand by the Nimba mountain range in the background of N'Zérékoré, the regional capital. The latter massif is home to the highest point in the region, Mount Molard, which rises to 1,854 meters. Real backbone of the area, the spaces of primary and secondary forest as well as savannahs are articulated around these main reliefs. Unfortunately, only a few scattered islands of the original forest remain, such as in Sérédou, nestled in the heart of the classified forest of Ziama. When the secondary forest areas are still preserved, they are often shared with cash crops such as coffee or cocoa. Elsewhere, bananas, palms, cola and rubber trees are the main crops that share the cleared areas. In this relatively "eventful" landscape, the often tumultuous rivers also bring their touch, in an atmosphere that is quite humid throughout the year. Some, such as the Milo and Niandan, are important tributaries of the Niger, which they join further north; others, such as the Diani and Makona, flow in the opposite direction and are lost in the southern territories of Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire, before reaching the ocean.
