Nigeria
Nigeria is located in Western Africa and is surrounded by the countries of Benin, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon and by the Gulf of Guinea/Atlantic Ocean. With a total land area of 923,768 sq km, Nigeria ranks as the 32nd largest country in the world (just over twice the size of California). Nigeria has three major climate regions: equatorial in the south, tropical in the center, and arid in the north. With southern lowlands merging into the central hills and plateaus, Nigeria also has mountains in the southeast and plains which are giving way to desert in north. Nigeria's initial capital city of Lagos, located in the far southwest, was not conducive from trying to bring political unity to a diverse population. Thus, in 1991 the seat of government was moved to the centralized location of Abuja, a city planned and built throughout the 1980s. Nigeria's greatest geographic natural hazards include both periodic draughts and flooding dependent upon the region.