"Work, Justice and Solidarity" in Guinea Quiz

Answer: Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea, formerly known as French Guinea, is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbor to the north, Guinea-Bissau, formerly known as Portuguese Guinea. Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Both Guinea and Guinea-Bissau are in West Africa, near the southwestern part of the bulge, with coasts on the Atlantic Ocean.

Equatorial Guinea is a Central African country, on the Gulf of Guinea. European explorers referred to the entire region surrounding the Gulf of Guinea, and extending as far north as the Sahara Desert, as Guinea, leaving us with many confusing regional names. New Guinea, the world's second-largest island, is located north of Australia in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The western half of the island is called West Papua, and contains two provinces of Indonesia. The eastern half is the country of Papua New Guinea.

Answer: Crescent

Guinea's Atlantic coast forms one end of the crescent. The country curves inland around Sierra Leone and the northwestern part of Liberia. The outer curved edge of the crescent is formed by the borders with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali and Cote D'Ivoire. The total land border of Guinea is 3,399 km (2,112 mi), and its coast is 322 km (200 mi).

Answer: Red, yellow and green

Red, yellow and green were the colors of African independence movements when Guinea adopted its flag in 1958. The symbolism of the colors is usually given as: red represents the sacrifices necessary in the struggle for freedom, yellow represents the sun and the golden riches of the earth, and green represents vegetation.

The first president of Ghana, Sekou Toure, also linked the colors to the three words of the national motto in a speech:

"Red: the colour of blood, symbol of our anti-colonialist martyrs. It is the sweat that runs over the ivory body of farmers, factory workers and other active workers. It is the wish for progress. Therefore red matches perfectly the first word of our motto: 'Travail' (Work).

Yellow: the colour of Guinean gold and African sun. It is the source of energy, generosity and equality for all men to which he gives light equally. Therefore yellow matches perfectly with the second word of our motto: 'Justice'.

Green: the colour of the African vegetation. 85% of the population are farmers living in the countryside, which is ever covered with a green coat. Green symbolizes prosperity which will surely arise from the wide wealth of soil and subsoil, and the difficult life of the countryside masses in our country. Therefore, green will confirm the meaning of the third word of the motto: 'Solidarite' (Solidarity)".

Bernard Charles, "Guinée - L'Atlas des Voyages". Éditions Rencontre. Lausanne. 1963. page 223 (translated by Ivan Sache).

Answer: Niger

The Niger River, which starts in the densely forested southeast highlands of Guinea, is the principal river of western Africa. It is the third longest river of Africa (behind the Nile and the Congo), with a length of about 4,180 km (2,600 mi) and a drainage basin of 2,117,700 sq km (817,600 sq mi).

Its name possibly comes from the Tuareg phrase 'her n gheren', meaning 'river of rivers'. This name, shortened to ngher, is a local name used along the middle stretch of the river near Timbuktu, Mali.

Answer: Bauxite

Bauxite mining and subsequent production of alumina (which can be processed to yield aluminum) provide about 80% of Guinea's foreign exchange. Guinea is also rich in hematite and other iron ores, and has a substantial amount of uranium ores such as pitchblende. Diamonds and gold are also valuable mining products, but there is little copper (such as would be found in malachite).

Answer: Camels

The Guinean forest-savanna mosaic covers an area of 673,600 square kilometers (260,100 square miles), extending from western Senegal to eastern Nigeria, and including portions of Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

It supports such fauna as hippopotamus, forest elephants, Patas monkeys, antelopes and tortoises. The wetlands of the region are rich in bird life.

Answer: Mountainous

Futa Jalon is a mountainous region featuring rolling grasslands. It is made of sandstone formations overlying granite; erosion of the sandstone has led to the development of deep valleys and jungle canyons in areas. The average elevation of this part of Guinea, also called Middle Guinea, is 900 m (3,000 ft).

The main field crop of the region is fonio, as the acidic soil makes it difficult to grow many other crops. Cattle, sheep and goats graze in many parts, and form an important part of the local economy.

Answer: Grasslands

A savanna is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. This means that enough light can reach the ground to support an unbroken layer of a range of grasses. Many of the animals associated with the African continent are found in savanna regions, including elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, aardvarks, buffalo, zebras, cheetahs, hyenas and rhinoceros.

Answer: Refugees from civil wars in neighboring countries

According to the 1996 census, the population of Nzerekore, situated near the borders with Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, was 107,329. Civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire have led to large numbers of refugees, and the 2008 population estimate was between 250,000 and 300,000.

A sawmill and plywood plant was built after World War II, helping to contribute to Nzerekore's economic development. Future growth may come from the rich iron ore deposits that have been found in the area. The tourists usually go home again, and there has been no oil exploration in this mountainous forested region. (There has been oil exploration further south, in the Gulf of Guinea near the mouth of the Niger River).

Answer: Harmattan

The Harmattan is a dry and dusty trade wind that blows south from the Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea during the winter months. It carries dust from the desert, which can severely limit visibility and disrupt air traffic. On occasion, the dust can be carried all the way to North America. While the dust can be a nuisance, the wind tends to signal cooler weather and a relief from the heat of summer, leading to its nickname - 'The Doctor' makes people feel better.

The khamsin, sirocco and simoom winds are found in North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, not as far south as Guinea.