Ghana. Ghana is one of the five African nations along the northern coastline of the Gulf of Guinea. It is bordered on the west by Cote d'Ivoire, on the north by Burkina Faso, and on the east by Togo. The country consists mostly of low-lying savannah regions, with a central belt of forest. Ghana's distinguishing geographic feature is the Volta River, on which was built the Akosombo dam in 1964. The damming of the Volta created the enormous Lake Volta, which occupies a sizeable portion of Ghana's southeastern territory.

Ivory Coast. Côte d'Ivoire (French for "Ivory Coast"), is bounded on the north by Mali and Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), on the east by Ghana, on the south by the Gulf of Guinea, and on the west by Liberia and Guinea. The country has an area of 322,462 sq km (124,503 sq mi). Yamoussoukro is the official capital, and Abidjan is the de facto capital and largest city

Nigeria.  The Federal Republic of Nigeria is bounded by Niger on the north, by Chad and Cameroon on the east, by the Gulf of Guinea on the south, and by Benin on the west. The most populous country of Africa, Nigeria has an area of 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi). Its name is derived from that of its major river, the Niger. Abuja is the capital and Lagos is the largest city.

Sierra Leone.  Sierra Leone is bounded on the north and east by Guinea, on the southeast by Liberia, and on the southwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean. The total area of the country is 71,740 sq km (27,699 sq mi). Freetown is the capital and largest city.

Cameroon.  Cameroon is bounded on the north by Lake Chad; on the east by Chad and the Central African Republic; on the south by the Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea; and on the west by the Bight of Biafra (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean) and Nigeria.

Gabon.  This West African country with the Atlantic as its western border is also bounded by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and the Congo. Its area is slightly less than Colorado's. Most of the country is covered by a dense tropical forest. The earliest humans in Gabon were believed to be the Babinga, or Pygmies, dating back to 7000 B.C., who were later followed by Bantu groups from southern and eastern Africa. Now there are many tribal groups in the country, the largest being the Fang peoples, who constitute 25% of the population.

Mali.  Bounded on the northeast by Algeria, on the east by Niger, on the south by Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), Côte d'Ivoire, and Guinea, and on the west by Senegal and Mauritania. The area of the country is 1,240,192 sq km (478,841 sq mi).

Senegal.  Senegal is bounded on the north by Mauritania, on the east by Mali, on the south by Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia, a small, narrow country, forms an enclave in southern Senegal, extending inland along the Gambia River. The republic's total area is 196,722 sq km (about 75,954 sq mi). Dakar is the capital and largest city.

Togo.  Togo, republic in West Africa, bounded on the north by Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), on the east by Benin, on the south by the Gulf of Guinea (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean), and on the west by Ghana. Togo extends about 550 km (about 340 mi) in a northern-southern direction and ranges from about 40 to 130 km (about 25 to 80 mi) in width. The country has an area of 56,785 sq km (21,925 sq mi). Lomé is the capital and largest city.