Grand Cape Mount
| Grand Cape Mount County | ||
|---|---|---|
| County | ||
|
||
 Location in Liberia |
||
| Coordinates: 7°10′N 11°0′W / 7.167°N 11.000°W | ||
| Country |
 Liberia
|
|
| Capital | Robertsport | |
| Districts | 5 | |
| Established | 1856 | |
| Government | ||
| • Superintendent | Ms. Tenneh Simpson Kpadebah | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 5,162 km2 (1,993 sq mi) | |
| Population (2008) | ||
| • Total | 129,817 | |
| • Density | 25/km2 (60/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) | |
Grand Cape Mount is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Robertsport serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 5,162 square kilometres (1,993 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 129,817, making it the eighth most populous county in Liberia. The county is bordered by Gbarpolu County to the northeast and Bomi County to the southeast. The northern part of Grand Cape Mount borders the nation of Sierra Leone, while to the west lies the Atlantic Ocean.
The name of the county comes from Cape du Mont, a Portuguese word meaning the Cape of the Mount. In 1461, Pedro de Sintra, a Portuguese explorer charting the West Coast of Africa, saw the prominent feature of the cape and chose its name.
Portuges explorer Pedro de Sinta discovered the area during 1461. The 300 foot tall Cape Mount became the landmark for the early settlers in the region. Theodore Canot formed the settlement in 1840. A local government was formed after signing a treaty with the locals in 1849, while Robertsport was established in 1849. In 1847, Liberia became independent with three counties: Montserrado, Grand Bassa and Sinoe. The area now known as Grand Cape Mount became the territory of Grand Cape Mount under Montserrado County. In 1856, Cape Mount was carved out of Montserrado by a legislative act and became the fifth County in Liberia.
Grand Cape County accommodates National protected area of Lake Pios Reserve with an area of 97,159 ha (240,090 acres) and the national plantation of Industrial Trial Pulpwood Plantation, which occupies an area of 1,026 ha (2,540 acres). The Western part of the county has coastal plains that raises to a height of 30 m (98 ft) above the sea-level inward to a distance of 25 km (16 mi). These plains receive a very high rainfall ranging from 4,450 mm (175 in) to 4,500 mm (180 in) per year and receive longer sunshine with a humidity of 85 to 95 per cent. It is swampy along rivers and creeks, while there are patches of Savannah woodland. Rice and cassava interplanted with Sugarcane are the major crops grown in the region. The northern or the upper part of the highland has tropical forest which is usually 30 m (98 ft) above the mean sea level. The regions receive a bimodal rainfall with a gap of two weeks in between. Cocoa, coffee, Lofa, bong, Nimba, rubber, citrus oil and palm are the most common crops in the region.
...
Wikipedia