Sangmélima is a town on the Lobo River, and also the chief town of Lobo division ('Dja et Lobo'), in the South Province ('Province du Sud'), Republic of Cameroon, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The language spoken there is French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, with Bulu being the second language.

People

The population is of the Bulu

Bulu

Bulu may refer to:* Bulu , the underworld in the mythology of Fiji* The Bulu people of Cameroon* Bulu language, spoken by that peopleThere are 3 subdistricts of Central Java, Indonesia namely Bulu :...

 clan, part of the Beti-Pahuin

Beti-Pahuin

The Beti-Pahuin are a group of related peoples who inhabit the rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though they separate themselves into several individual ethnic groups, they all share a common history and culture. They were...

 tribe. The Bulu migrated to the area during the 19th century, having been slave hunters until the British

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 sent elements of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 in 1827 to the coastal areas in bid to stop the slave trade. Cameroon's President Paul Biya

Paul Biya

Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime...

 is a Bulu, from a village near Sangmélima.

Transport

The National Road 9 passes through the town, and National Road 17 begins there. There is an airstrip near the town.

Ecology

The Dja Faunal Reserve

Dja Faunal Reserve

Dja Faunal Reserve, located in Cameroon, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1987. Causes of inscription include diversity of species present in the park, the presence of five threatened species, and lack of disturbance within the park. The boundary that secludes the reserve is the Dja...

 ('Réserve du Biosphère du Dja') is a 5,260 km² reserve that extends to the east of the town, and which was designated a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 in 1984. UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

calls it: "one of the largest and best-protected rainforests in Africa, with 90% of its area left undisturbed". There are also said to be "vast forested areas" to the south of the town.