Typology of geotouristic assets along the south continental branch of the Cameroon volcanic line: Case of the mount Bambouto's caldera

Abstract

The geological story of Cameroon has been without any doubt highlighted by the establishment and the evolution of the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). CVL stretches in the N30°E orientation from the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) to Lake Chad (African Continent). The continental domain is 900 km long and is made up of well-defined plutonic and volcanic apparatus. The southern branch of the continental part is made up of a range of voluminous volcanoes among which is found the mount Bambouto. Mount Bambouto culminates at 2744 m (Meletan mountain) where is found a huge sub-elliptical (16 × 8 km) caldera. This caldera is characterized by the volcanic geoheritage that is dominated by well-diversified landforms. These landforms are related to the outcrops of rocks like basalts, trachytes, ignimbrites and phonolites whom eruptions ruled the formation of caldera. They are mainly geomorphosites namely domes-flows (Mount Meletan, Mount Nkon'hon and Mount Tchenlekot), intrusive domes (Babadjou Tooth, Mount Mag'haa, Dome Mag'haa, Dome Mekwop and Mount M'mouck Leteh), Valley (Ayila Valley) and waterfall (Ayila waterfall). Since many decades, the wonders of geomorphological features in the Mount Bambouto caldera (MBoC) foster several field trainings (of students from secondary schools and universities) and some arrival of visitors. These geomorphological units constitute the paramount asset for the implementation of geotourism. Geotourism promotion faces a lot of difficulties due to the lack of geotouristic facilities. The development of geopark could be a huge solution for the implementation of geotourism that will be an interesting tool for job creation while preserving the geomorphosites for future generations.