Batouala is a small village in Gabon halfway along the dirt road from

Makokou Makokou is the regional capital of the Ogooué-Ivindo province in Gabon. Its coordinates are . Its altitude is 308 m. Its population in 2004 is around 16,600. The city lies on the Ivindo River and the N4 road. It grew around iron ore min ...

to Mékambo, in the north-eastern province of Ogooué-Ivindo. A 2014 report noted that "pre-electrification" of the Batouala area was underway. The climate is equatorial, with annual median temperatures between 23.9 and 23.7 °C (reference points for these data are Makouko and Mekambo, respectively), average rainfall between 1725 and 1612 mm, relative humidity of 81%, with an average 160 days of rainfall annually. The area features caves, one of which, the ''Grotte de Batouala'', is at a 3-4km drive and then a 1h45m walk from the village. The cave has three species of bats, and its entrance is made difficult by a thick layer of

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

. Its main gallery, according to the report of a 1966 expedition to caves in the Makokou area, contains a thigh-deep lake of liquid guano.

References

Populated places in Ogooué-Ivindo Province {{Gabon-geo-stub