A rainy season from May through October brings the bulk of the country's precipitation, but some rains occur intermittently during the rest of the year. The country is, in effect, a vast and well-watered plateau drained by two major river systems, of which the northerly drains into the Chari Basin and eventually into Lake Chad, and the southerly into the Oubangui River, a confluent of the Congo River. Unfortunately, except for the Oubangui itself and very short sections of the two other rivers, navigation is seasonal and difficult. Vegetation varies from the tropical rain forest in the extreme southwest to the semi-desert in the northeastern tip of the country. The great bulk of the country is open savanna.
Most people pursue small-scale farming or herding as a livelihood.
Cotton and coffee serve as key sources of income in many areas. Other minerals such as uranium are also present, but their remote locations make mining difficult. Some 810 miles of road cross the C.A.R. from Beloko on the Cameroon border to Obo on the eastern frontier, but only about 280 miles of this road is paved. The industrial sector in the C.A.R. is small, numbering about 100 firms, ranging in size from small artisan workshops to large textile complexes employing nearly 1000 workers. Back to Top Religions The Africa of an earlier day knew nothing but animism and fetishism.