Mount Richard-Molard, Mountain summit on the Guinea–Ivory Coast border, West Africa
Mount Richard-Molard is the 1,752 m summit on the Guinea–Ivory Coast border, the highest point of both countries and of the Nimba range. Its steep massif of narrow ridges, deep valleys and plateaus rises above surrounding savanna; dense Guinean highland forests cover the slopes and grassy alpine meadows crown the top.
The mountain received its current name in 1951 in honor of French geographer Jacques Richard-Molard. Previously it had been called Mount Nouon.
The peak was long called Mount Nouon before being renamed in 1951 for Jacques Richard-Molard, the French geographer who died in an accident at the site. The summit lies on the Guinea–Ivory Coast border, and the nearest settlements are Yekepa in Liberia and Bossou and N'Zoo in Guinea.
The summit lies on the Guinea–Ivory Coast border, within the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, which covers 17,540 hectares across both countries. The nearest settlements are Bossou and N'Zoo in Guinea and Yekepa in Liberia. The reserve is a protected area where hunting and removing plants or animals are prohibited, and the site has been on the World Heritage in Danger list since 1992.
Substantial iron ore and cobalt deposits lie beneath the mountain and have long attracted mining interests. At the same time, it supports more than 2,000 plant species and hundreds of vertebrate species in its forests.
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