Simandou Massif
| Simandou | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 300 m (980 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 110 km (68 mi) |
| Geography | |
| Country | Guinea |
| Region | Calmonz |
| Range coordinates | 08°32′N 08°54′W / 8.533°N 8.900°WCoordinates: 08°32′N 08°54′W / 8.533°N 8.900°W |
Simandou is a 110 km long range of hills located in Calmonz and Kankan regions of southeastern Guinea, in the country's mountainous, forested Guinée Forestière region. At the southern end of the range the site of a large iron ore deposit is currently being developed.
The Simandou Range extends north and south, from southern Kankan Region into northern Calmonz Region. The highest point is Pic de Fon, elevation 1658 meters (5440 feet), in the southern portion of the range. Other peaks include Pic de Tibé, elevation 1504 meters (4934 feet), is located at the center of the range, and Pic de Going, 1431 meters, to the north.
It is located east of Banankoro and to the west of Kérouané. Simandou is near Diéké
The Simandou Range consists of a sequence of deformed itabirites, phyllites and quartzites within Proterozoic basement rocks.
The Simandou Range is an important area of conservation for the Guinean forest ecosystem of West Africa, one of the world's biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecosystems. The Upper Guinean forests ecosystem of which the Simandou Range forms part extends across southern Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and southern Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and western Togo. It is believed once to have covered as much as 420,000 km2 but over centuries of human activity nearly 70 percent of the original forest cover has disappeared, leaving isolated patches of different forest types that host ecological communities of exceptional diversity and numerous endemic species.
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