Makokou is the regional capital of the Ogooué-Ivindo province in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. Its coordinates are . Its altitude is 308 m. Its population in 2004 is around 16,600. The city lies on the

Ivindo River The Ivindo River ( French: ''Rivière Ivindo'') is the most important tributary of the Ogooué River, which flows in Gabon. Course The Ivindo River flows from northeast Gabon to the southwest, eventually emptying into the Ogooué River. It flow ...

and the N4 road. It grew around

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

mining and lies near the

Ivindo National Park Ivindo National Park () is a national park in east-central Gabon in Central Africa, straddling the border of the Ogooué-Ivindo and Ogooué-Lolo provinces. Its creation was announced in August 2002 by then-President Omar Bongo at the Earth Summ ...

Transport

A branch of the

Trans-Gabon Railway The Trans-Gabon Railway () is the only railway in Gabon. It runs east from Owendo port station in Libreville to Franceville via numerous stations, the main ones being Ndjolé, Lopé, Booué, Lastoursville and Moanda. History A railw ...

was originally planned to terminate in the town, but the route was abandoned for what are often described as political reasons. At the time, the price of iron ore from the nearby iron ore mines was depressed. In 2006, proposals to build this branch with a possible extension to other iron ore mines at Mbala, Cameroon are being considered. At new

deep water port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

at Santa Clara would be part of the project. The town has one airport, Makokou Airport.

Religion

Its Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Victoires is the see of the Apostolic Vicariate of Makokou, the country's last Roman Catholic missionary circonscription.

Famous Citizens

Former Gabonese Prime Ministers Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet and Alain Claude Bilie By Nze were born in this city.

Climate

Makokou has a tropical dry savanna climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''As'').

References

External links