(formerly or Clarence Peak), located on the island of

Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...

, is the tallest mountain of Equatorial Guinea. With an altitude of 9,878 ft (3,011 m), it is the summit of the largest and highest of three overlapping

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

ic shield volcanoes which form the island. From the summit, Mt. Cameroon can be seen to the northeast. Pico Basilé lies close to the city of Malabo. The very top is used as a broadcast transmitting station for RTVGE (Radio Television Guinea Ecuatorial) and microwave relay station for various communication networks. The peak forms a part of Pico Basilé National Park, created in April 2000 The boundaries of Bioko Norte and Sur runs near the summit.

Bioko was formed along the Cameroon line, a major northeast-trending geologic fault that runs from the Atlantic Ocean into

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 C ...

. This line includes other volcanic islands in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...

such as Annobón, Príncipe and

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álvar ...

, along with the massive stratovolcano of

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...

. Unlike the three other islands which are extinct volcanoes, its last eruption occurred in 1923.

Flora and fauna

Part of the Cameroon line, the flora and fauna of Pico Basilé and

as a whole are similar to that of the montane regions of adjacent

and

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 ...

. Multiple range restricted species occur on Pico Basilé, and one bird, the Bioko Speirops ''Zoterops brunneus'', is wholly restricted to the volcano's higher elevations.

History

The island was inhabited in the middle of the first millennium BC by Bantu tribes from the mainland, who formed the Bubi ethnic group. Unlike other islands in the area, Bioko had an indigenous African population. The Bubi speak a Bantu language. The island has probably been inhabited by this or other Bantu-speaking groups since before the 7th century BC. In 1472, the Portuguese navigator Fernão do Pó was the first European to sight the island while seeking a path to India. The first ascent of the mountain by Europeans was made by English commanders between 1827 and 1828 under the Owen expedition. Its first official ascent was made in 1839 by the British John Beecroft who was later governor of the island that was once Fernando Po, now Bioko.

References

Sources

*
Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program
Bioko Mountains of Equatorial Guinea Shield volcanoes of Equatorial Guinea Volcanoes of the Atlantic Ocean Highest points of countries Polygenetic shield volcanoes {{EquatorialGuinea-geo-stub

Flora and fauna

History

See also

References

Sources