TOGOLAND, a country of West Africa (the French and German form is Togo). The maritime zone forms part of what was distinguished as the Slave Coast ; it lies between the Gold Coast and Dahomey and extends from ° 14' E. to ° 38' E. Annexed to Germany in 1884, it was given a hinterland of nearly 35,00o sq. miles. Since 1919 it has been divided into British and French spheres (see infra).
The coast is low and sandy and is formed by the detritus deposited by the sea current called Calema. It is perfectly straight, without harbours, and approached only through a dangerous bar. This coast strip, but 32 m. long, is nowhere more than 2 m. broad. It masks a series of lagoons, of which the largest, occupying a central position, is called the Togo, Avon or Haho lagoon. Behind the lagoons an undulating plain stretches some 5o miles. The Sio and Haho, the two largest rivers of the coast region, both flow into the Togo lagoon. These rivers rise on the eastern versant of a chain of mountains which traverse the country in a south-westerly to a north-easterly direction. It has no general name but in the south is called Agome. It is most elevated in its southern portion, Mt. Dabo having a height of 3,133 ft. and Mt. Atilakuse 3,248 feet. Its general elevation is between 2,000 and 2,500 ft.; on the north-west side of the range the country is table-land, some 600 to i ,000 ft. high. Baumann Spitze (3,215 ft.) is an isolated peak in 6° 50' N., o° 46' E., east of the main range. South and east of the range the country, apart from that watered by the coast streams, drains to the Mono river, which, in its lower course, forms the Togoland-Dahomey frontier.
The greater part of the country lies west and north of the chain _ _ _ and belongs to the basin of the Volta. The chief river traversing it (north to south) is the Oti, a tributary of the Volta.
The climate on the coast is hot, humid and unhealthy. There are two wet seasons, the first lasting from March till June, the second from September to November. A marked feature of the
climate is the prolonged period, December to April, in which the dry wind called harrnattan prevails. The rainfall is thought to average 55 in. a year in the southern districts. On the tableland seasons of drought are not uncommon.
Coconut palms, introduced by the Portuguese, grow along the coast and for 8o m. or so inland. The lagoons are surrounded by dense belts of reeds, and the coast-land is covered with low, dense bush. There are forests of oil palms, rubber trees and vines, and timber and dyewood trees. There are rain-forests on the moun tains and along the river valleys. On the hills the baobab and hyphaene palm are characteristic ; on the plateau are stretches of open savanna and park-like country with clumps of silk cotton and shea-butter trees. 'The fauna resembles that of other parts of West Africa; it is poor on the coast.
In the south-west the inhabitants are negroes of the Twi-speaking clans, while on the coast and in the south-east they are members of the Ewe (Dahomey) tribes. Among the coast people there is a distinct infusion of Portuguese blood, and in all the ports are descendants of Brazilian negroes who returned to Africa during the 19th century. The northern tribes are distinct from the coast tribes, are of finer physique, and until recently went almost naked. Among these tribes the Mamprusi and Dagomba, the Kotokoli and Bassari may be noted. Though the Togoland natives number fewer than one million over 4o different languages are spoken. As is common in West Africa the people are divided into a large number of independent tribes, each under its own head chief, who is, however, subject to the authority of a council of sub-chiefs and leading officials. The use of poisoned arrows by the northern tribes still prevailed in 1928. In the coast lands the inhabitants are traders and agriculturists, in the interior they are largely pastoralists. The people are mostly pagans, but some thousands have embraced Christianity or Islam.