<P> A long history of volcanism has also created a number of crater lakes in the province, the results of collapsed volcanoes filling with water . Among the most well known are Lakes Tison (Tyson, Tisson) and Mbalang near Ngaoundéré . </P> <P> Powerful geothermal forces have shaped the Adamawa . The province begins to the south as part of the South Cameroon Plateau . The land rises gently but unevenly until about 6 degrees latitude . Here begins the Adamawa Plateau, a band of terrain that ranges from 1,000 to 2,000 m in altitude (averaging about 1,100 m) and stretches from Nigeria to the CAR . Altitude dips to as low of 500 m in the Djérem and Mbéré valleys and at the border north of Ngaoundéré . The plateau continues to about 8 degrees north before descending to the Benué Depression in abrupt cliffs and active volcanoes (though this transitional zone is mostly in the North Province). </P> <P> Faults also cut across the area, the major one being the Cameroon Fault, dating from the Cretaceous Period . The Mbang Mountains follow this fault in a rough cut toward the east . Other mountains dot the province, as well . The Mambilas stretch into the extreme southwest from Nigeria and the Northwest and West Provinces . The Gotels are north of these along the border with Nigeria . All of these mountains form part of the Cameroon Ridge . Tchabal Mbabo, in the Gotels, is the highest peak at 2,460 m . </P> <P> The province's high elevation lends it a relatively cool climate average between 22 and 25 degrees Celsius . However, specific conditions vary between the South Cameroon and Adamawa Plateaus . The former experiences an equatorial climate of the Guinea type with four seasons: a long, dry period from December to May, a short, wet period from May to June, a short, dry season from July to October, and finally a long, wet season from October to November . </P>

This region is the largest and most sparsely populated region in the country