Wa, Ghana

Wa is a town and is the capital of Wa Municipal District and the Upper West Region of north Ghana. Wa has a 2012 settlement population of 102,446. Features of the town include several mosques, the Wa-Na Palace, a museum and a nearby hippopotamus sanctuary. The geography of Wa is notable for the dramatic monadnock Ombo Mountain which is located around Kaleo and visible from much of the Wa township.

The town serves as a transportation hub for the Upper West region, with major roads leading north to Hamile, and northeast to Tumu and the Upper East Region. There is also a small airport, the Wa Airport.

History

Wa has been inhabited for several hundred years, by traders who settled in Wa in order to participate in the trans-Saharan trade. Wa also holds the mortal remains of Babatu, a notorious raider well known for his raids in Upper West region during the late and early 19th century.

Environment and weather

Wa is in the southern part of the Sahel, the semi-arid area south of the Sahara. Average annual rainfall is around 879 millimetres (34.6 in), almost all of which occurs between May and October. Following the May–October rainly season is a cool dry period called the Harmattan when a steady, often dusty, north wind blows from the Sahara. The hottest period of the year is in February and March when daytime temperatures often reach 103 °F (40 °C).

Ghana

Coordinates: 8°N 2°W / 8°N 2°W / 8; -2

Ghana (ⁱ/ˈɡɑːnə/), officially called the Republic of Ghana, is a sovereign unitary presidential constitutional democracy, located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km², Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King" in Mande.

The territory of present-day Ghana has been inhabited for millennia, with the first permanent state dating back to the 11th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful was the Kingdom of Ashanti. Beginning in the 15th century, numerous European powers contested the area for trading rights, with the British ultimately establishing control of the coast by the late 19th century. Following over a century of native resistance, Ghana's current borders were established by the 1900s as the British Gold Coast. In 1957, it became the first sub-saharan African nation to declare independence from European colonisation.

Ghana (Commonwealth realm)

Ghana was a Commonwealth realm between 6 March 1957 and 1 July 1960, before it became the Republic of Ghana. It was the first western African country to achieve independence.

British rule ended in 1957, when the Ghana Independence Act 1957 transformed the British Crown Colony of the Gold Coast into the independent sovereign Commonwealth realm of Ghana. The British monarch remained head of state, and Ghana shared its Sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of Ghana. The royal succession was governed by the English Act of Settlement of 1701. The following governors-general held office in Ghana during the commonwealth realm period:

A referendum was held on 27 April 1960, with 88.47% percent of the Ghanaian people voting in favour of a republic, 11.53% against. The republic was declared and the monarchy abolished on 1 July 1960.

Ghana (album)

Ghana is third in a three-part series of compilations of songs by The Mountain Goats that have appeared on various releases. It is preceded by Protein Source of the Future...Now!, and Bitter Melon Farm.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by John Darnielle. 

Personnel

Cover versions

References