12 facts about Cameroon that raise eyebrows
A country named after a prawn, the biggest frog in the world, a king who invents a script, Tarzan, Michael Jackson and a goal at 42: twelve checked facts to shine at your next meal.
By Yuhala Darren Tuma11 October 20264 min read
People call Cameroon Africa in miniature. They say less often how surprising this country is. Here are twelve facts, all checked, to bring out the next time someone tells you there is “nothing” here.
1. The country is named after a prawn
In 1472, the Portuguese sailors of Fernando Pó entered the Wouri estuary. There were so many prawns that they named the river Rio dos Camarões, the “river of prawns”. English sailors turned it into Cameroons. The name stuck.
2. The biggest frog in the world lives here
The goliath frog can measure 30 cm and weigh more than 3 kg. A specimen caught in the Sanaga in 1889 reached nearly 88 cm with its legs stretched out.
3. One of the wettest places on the planet
Debundscha, a village at the foot of Mount Cameroon, facing the Atlantic, is among the places with the highest rainfall in the world.
4. 309 languages, and two official ones
309 languages are recorded in Cameroon. French and English are the two official languages, and the country belongs to both the Francophonie and the Commonwealth.
5. A volcano that does not sleep
Mount Cameroon rises above 4,000 metres. It is the most active volcano in West Africa: nine eruptions during the 20th century. In Bakweri it is called the “mountain of the Gods”.
6. A river that jumps into the ocean
Seven kilometres from Kribi, the Lobé does not end in an estuary like other rivers: it drops straight into the Atlantic.
7. A king invented a script
In Foumban, King Njoya gave his people a script, to record the history of the Bamoun kingdom, its customs and its remedies.
8. A green lake and a blue lake, side by side
On Mount Manengouba, two crater lakes face each other, separated by a thin ridge: the “male” lake, with green water, and the “female” lake, with blue water.
9. Tarzan was filmed here
The Ekom-Nkam falls, 80 metres high, were a set for “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan”, in 1984.
10. Michael Jackson sampled a Cameroonian
Manu Dibango wrote “Soul Makossa” in 1972, on the B-side of a single. Ten years later the track was sampled in Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”.
11. The Lions opened the door for a whole continent
In 1990, Cameroon became the first African country to reach the quarter-finals of a World Cup. Roger Milla was 38. Four years later he scored again, at 42.
12. Fish found nowhere else
Lake Barombi Mbo, near Kumba, is home to a dozen endemic species of cichlid fish. It has been listed as a wetland of international importance since 2006.
Your turn
- Which of these facts did you not know?
- Which surprising fact is missing from the list? Share it, with your source if you have one.
- Who are you going to send this article to, to win a bet?
To go and see with your own eyes
Sources: Wikipedia (in French), articles Cameroun, Conraua goliath, Debundscha, Langues au Cameroun, Mont Cameroun, Chutes de la Lobé, Ibrahim Njoya, Lacs Manengouba, Chutes d'Ekom, Manu Dibango, Roger Milla, Lac Barombi Mbo. Opening photo: Evr1rd / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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