Slave Coast of West Africa Slave Coast of West Africa The Slave Coast is a historical name formerly used for parts of coastal West Africa along the Bight of Benin. The name is derived from the region's history as a major source of African slaves during the Atlantic slave trade from the early 16th century to the late 19th century. Other nearby coastal regions historically known by their prime colonial export are the Gold Coast, the Ivory Coast, and the Pepper Coast (or Grain Coast). European sources began documenting the development of trade in this region and its integration into the trans-Atlantic slave trade around
Geology of Liberia Geology of Liberia The geology of Liberia is largely extremely ancient rock formed between 3.5 billion and 541 million years ago in the Archean and the Neoproterozoic, with some rocks from the past 145 million years near the coast. The country has rich iron resources as well as some diamonds, gold and other minerals in ancient sediment formations weathered to higher concentrations by tropical rainfall. Two billion to 1.6 billion year old Archean and Paleoproterozoic underlie 90% of Liberia, forming the Man Shield, part of the West African Craton—a region of stable continental crust leftover from early continent formation. The