Moundou

History

The city was created on 8 November 1923 by the French sergeant and administrator Joseph-François Reste, Lieutenant-General of Chad from 1923 to 1926 and future Governor General of French Equatorial Africa, who, from the whaleboat upon which he navigated the Logone, found the site pretty. By 1916, the military conquest of Chad was completed, however movements of resistance to the colonial regime took place. It was especially in the southwest of the country that dissensions continued until about 1930. The rebellious situation did not change much with the arrival of Lieutenant Robert Reverdy. Chief of the district of the Middle Logone in 1925, Reverdy, who became a director in 1927, completed an uninterrupted stay for five years and eight months. He moved the chief town of the district to Moundou in 1927. Riding the country, on horseback and by litter, he subjected the organisation of strong chieftains, first of village then of township. On 20 April 1930, Governor Georges Prouteaux of Oubangi-Chari (the district was attached to Oubangui-Chari in 1926) signed a decision reorganising the "indigenous of the Middle Logone" by creating 40 cantons, divided into five subdivisions. Reverdy had his right-hand man, local chief Hassan Moundou or Hassan Baguirmi, of Baguirmian or rather Baguirmianised Dekakire Arab origin, installed as chief of the township of Moundou. Not all chiefs were of traditional origin. In the animist country, custom only recognised clan chiefs or war or initiation leaders, who were strictly specialised and temporary. However, the system was accepted by the population, and some chiefs remained in office for more than a quarter of a century. Their descendants are still in place today. Reverdy The first cadastral map of the town of Moundou was manufactured…

Geography

Like other parts of southern Chad and the East Sudanian savanna, Moundou has a typical tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), with a wet season and a dry season and the temperature being hot year-round. The average annual high temperature is , while the average annual low temperature is . The hottest time of year is from March to May, just before the wet season starts. March has the highest average high at , while the highest average low is in April. August has the lowest average high at (the only average high below ), while December has the lowest average low at . Moundou receives of rain over 85 precipitation days, with a distinct wet and dry season like most tropical savanna climates. December and January receive no precipitation at all, with almost no rain falling from November to March. August, the wettest month, receives of rainfall on average. August also has 19 precipitation days, which is the most of any month. Humidity is much higher in the wet season than the dry season, with February having a humidity at just 28% and August having a humidity at 81%. Moundou receives 2810.4 hours of sunshine annually on average, with the sunshine being distributed fairly evenly across the year, although it is lower during the wet season. December receives the most sunshine, while August receives the least. There are four quarters or municipal districts of Moundou, further subdivided into 20 neighbourhoods: ** First district: **# DOMBAO neighbourhood **# DOYON neighbourhood **# TAYE neighbourhood (also spelt Tayeh) **# BEBANDJI neighbourhood **# KOUDJIRIKO neighbourhood **# NGARA neighbourhood ** Second district: **# NGUELBE neighbourhood **# BAGUIRMI neighbourhood **# BOURNOU neighbourhood **# HAUSA neighbourhood ** Third district: **# GUELKOURA neighbourhood **# QUINZE…

Most-observed species

• East African cordia

  Cordia africana Lam. · Magnoliopsida
  2
• African Pygmy-Goose

  Nettapus auritus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  1
• Colocynth

  Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. · Magnoliopsida
  1
• Tropical Girdlepod

  Mitracarpus hirtus (L.) DC. · Magnoliopsida
  1
• White Moneywort

  Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC. · Magnoliopsida
  1
• Woolflower

  Celosia trigyna L. · Magnoliopsida
  1
• Caesar Weed

  Urena lobata L. · Magnoliopsida
  1
• Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC.

  Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC. · Magnoliopsida
  1