Jos Plateau

Jos Plateau, tropical highland, near the center of Nigeria. The plateau covers an area of about 7,800 sq km (about 3,000 sq mi) and lies at a general altitude of about 1,300 m (about 4,300 ft). It is surrounded by high plains with elevations of between 600 and 900 m (2,000 and 3,000 ft) and consists mainly of deeply eroded remnant volcanic rock, mostly granites. Temperatures in the plateau tend to be 4 Celsius degrees (8 Fahrenheit degrees) cooler than those on the coast, and the average annual rainfall of about 1,300 mm (about 50 in) is considerably higher than that in the surrounding lowland. Headwaters of rivers feeding the Niger River, the Benue River, and Lake Chad radiate from here. The original savanna woodland and forest have been cleared and largely replaced by open grassland and farms. The plateau is known for its waterfalls, several of which have been harnessed to provide power for the region's mining industries.

Alluvial tin and niobium deposits have supported a modern mining and smelting industry in the Jos Plateau since the early 1900s. The cool upland is the only region in Nigeria that permits the cultivation of potatoes. This area is also a center of a dairy industry producing butter and cheese. Jos is the center of the Jos Plateau and the most important town. Other towns are Bukuru, a mining community; Vom, the site of a dairy and a veterinary research station, and Pankshin.

Archaeological finds in the Jos Plateau indicate that the Nok people lived in the area from 900 bc to ad 200. Iron tools and cast-bronze burial artifacts from the Nok culture provide the earliest evidence of the Iron Age in West Africa. During the 19th century, Fulani chief and Islamic leader Usuman dan Fodio carried out a holy war, called the Fulani Jihad, in the region. Traditional tribal groups retreated to the plateau to avoid incursion by Fulani horsemen. Mining activity, which began in the early 1900s, has brought an influx of whites and Nigerians to the plateau, profoundly changing local societies. During the same period the hill farmers have expanded into the lower elevations.