The topography of the area is undulating and slopes ranging from 200 meters to 300 meters, in the western and northern parts of the district particularly around Kaseisa and Doninga zones. In the most popular Fumbisi valleys where farming is done throughout the year, the slopes are gentler and ranges from 150 metres to 200 metres.

Location and Size

Builsa South District lies between longitudes 10 05’ West and 10 35’ West and latitudes 100 20’ North and 100 50’ North of the equator. The district shares boundaries with the Builsa North district to the north, Mamprugu Moagduri District in the Northern Region to the South, West Mamprusi District to the west, and the Sisala East District in the Upper West Region to the east.

Relief and Drainage

The topography of the area is undulating and slopes ranging from 200 metres to 300 metres are found in the western and northern part of the district particularly. In the valleys of Kulpawn, Besibeli, Asibelika and the Azimzim, the slopes are gentler and range from 150 metres to 200 metres.

Inselbergs and other granitic outcrops occasionally break the monotony of the near flat surfaces. In general the low-lying nature of the land makes greater part of it liable to flooding in years of copious rains.

Like most parts of northern Ghana, a significant portion of the district falls within the Volta basin and is heavily dissected by a number of important tributaries of the White Volta such as the Kulpawn, Asebelika, Belipieni, etc, giving a very high drainage density. Most of these streams are however seasonal and dry up during the extended dry season with an adverse effect on the supply of water for both agricultural and domestic use.

The high drainage density coupled with the low-lying terrain, reduces easy accessibility in the district especially during the rainy season. Between July and September in particular, most rivers and streams overflow their banks, a number of roads, tracks and foot paths are flooded and settlements cut off from the centre.

Rainfall and Climate

The District has mean monthly temperatures ranging between 21.90 C and 34.10 C. The highest temperatures are recorded in March and this can rise to 450 C, whereas the lowest temperatures are recorded in January. The dry season is characterized by dry harmattan winds and wide diurnal temperature ranges.

There is only one rainy season, which builds up gradually from little rains in April to a maximum in August-September, and then declines sharply to a complete halt in mid-October when the dry season sets in.

Rainfalls are very torrential and range between 85 mm and 1150mm p.a. with irregular dry spells occurring in June or July.

Vegetation

The vegetation of the district is characterized by savannah woodland and consists mostly of deciduous, widely spaced fire and drought resistant, trees of varying sizes and density with dispersed perennial grasses and associated herbs. Through the activities of man, the woodland savannah has been reduced to open parkland where only trees of economic value like baobab, acacia, sheanut and the dawadawa have been retained with time. T

hese trees satisfy domestic requirements for fuel wood and timber for local housing construction, cattle kraals, vegetable garden fences and materials for handicraft.

In the dry season, annual bush fires decimate the grasses and shrubs and as a result, pastures for livestock are largely destroyed. These bush fires also ravage the forest reserves in the district and render them hardly distinguishable from the surrounding vegetation.

Soils

The District is developed from five different geological formations namely Granite, Birimian rocks, Voltaian shale, and Old Alluvium of mixed origin and Very Old River Terraces. Out of these, the dominant soil groups in the district are of granite origin. They form the predominant soils in the northern half of the district and more than half of the southern part.

The second largest groups of soils are those derived from alluvia of mixed origin and those on very old river terraces.

Intense erosion overtime has contributed to serious reduction in soil depth and thereby loss of arable surface.

The alluvial soils of the south on the whole are very suitable for rice production due to the seasonal flooding in the areas. Most of the soils are suitable for the cultivation of a wide range of savanna grain and tree crops such as millet, maize, sorghum, rice, groundnuts, cotton, Soya beans, guinea-corn, sheanuts, dawadawa and root tubers like potatoes.

The well-known Fumbisi valleys consist of a vast tract of land that stretches from southern Fumbisi and Uwasi to Wiesi and Gbedembilisi at the confluence of the Sissili and Kulpawn rivers. The zone has mostly alluvia soils developed from recent and old alluvium of mixed origin as well as those developed on very old river terraces.