Mount Richard-Molard, also known as Mount Nimba, is a mountain along the border of Ivory Coast and Guinea in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. The highest peak for both countries and the Nimba Range is at . The mountain is a part of the

Guinea Highlands The Guinea Highlands is a densely forested mountainous plateau extending from central Guinea through northern Sierra Leone and Liberia to western Ivory Coast. The highlands include a number of mountains, ranges and plateaus, including the Fouta ...

, which straddles the borders between the two countries and Liberia. The nearest major settlements are the town

Yekepa Yekepa is a town in northern Nimba County in Liberia, lying near the Guinean border. It was the base for Lamco's iron ore mining operation until it was destroyed in the First Liberian Civil War which lasted from 1989 to 1997. Nearby Guesthouse ...

in Liberia and the towns of

Bossou Bossou is a town and sub-prefecture in the Lola Prefecture in the Nzérékoré Region of south-eastern Guinea. Much of the sub prefecture consists of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve. The Bossou Hills Reserve situated at the south-easter ...

and N'Zoo in Guinea.

Toponymy

The mountain is named after the French geographer Jacques Richard-Molard, who died in an accident at the mountain site in 1951. Before that it was called Mount Nouon.

Geology

The mountain is rich in iron ore and

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...

. The mix of iron rich

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

sheets,

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

s and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

have characterised the geological

pedogenesis Soil formation, also known as pedogenesis, is the process of soil genesis as regulated by the effects of place, environment, and history. Biogeochemical processes act to both create and destroy order ( anisotropy) within soils. These alterations ...

Conservation

Mount Richard-Molard lies within the

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve is a protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in both Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, extending over a total of area of 17,540 hectares, with 12,540 hectares in Guinea, and 5,000 hectares in Côte d'Ivoi ...

, which currently covers 17,540 hectares and straddles the borders of Guinea and Ivory Coast.

World Heritage status

is a site with outstanding universal value and was therefore nominated to the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 1981. It has been listed as

World Heritage in Danger The List of World Heritage in Danger is compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the World Heritage Committee according to Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention,Full title: ''Conv ...

since 1992. This site was added to Guinea's "Tentative List" for consideration for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

status on 29 March 2001, in the cultural category.

has been listed as a World Heritage Site in both Guinea and Ivory Coast, under the criteria for natural heritage.

References

External links

World Heritage Site Data Sheet–Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve

Rollard Ch., Wesolowska W. 2002. Jumping spiders (Arachnida, Araneae, Salticidae) from the Nimba Mountains in Guinea. Zoosystema. Paris, 24 (2):283-307
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richard-Molard, Mount International mountains of Africa Guinea–Ivory Coast border Mountains of Ivory Coast Mountains of Guinea Nzérékoré Region Montagnes District Highest points of countries