The Atlantika Mountains, also known as the Alantika Mountains, are an extension of the Cameroon line of volcanic mountains, spanning the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

between

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

. They lie to the southeast of Yola, the capital of

Adamawa State Adamawa state () is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It tak ...

in Nigeria, and southwest of the

Mandara mountains The Mandara Mountains are a volcanic range extending about 190 km (about 120 mi) along the northern part of the Cameroon–Nigeria border, from the Benue River in the south () to the north-west of Maroua in the north (). The highest e ...

. In Cameroon, they are part of the North Region. They are north of the Adamawa Plateau and west of the Faro National Park in Cameroon. The massif rises to about above the

Faro River The Faro River is a river that flows over the Nigeria–Cameroon border in Africa. Its source is on the Adamawa Plateau, which lies southeast of Ngaoundéré. A tributary of the Benue River, they meet on the border. See also *Communes of Cameroon ...

, a tributary of the

Benue River The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its bas ...

. The range includes a belt of volcanoes, most of which are inactive. The line of mountains of which the Atlantika range is a part were taken as a natural boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon by the colonial powers. The Koma people took refuge in the mountains in the last half of the 19th century, apparently to avoid paying taxes to the colonial government. They remained unnoticed until 1980, when they were found by an Indian schoolteacher who was working for the government. Alantika means where ''Allah hasn't yet arrived'' in the Kanuri language, due to the Koma people keeping their own religions, despite being mostly surrounded by Muslims.

References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of Cameroon Mountain ranges of Nigeria Cameroonian Highlands forests