Chad

          Chad is a landlocked country, covering an area about the same size as Peru, or three times the size of the U.S. state of California. The majority of Chad is part of a giant basin surrounded by mountains on all sides but the west, including the spectacular Tibesti Mountains in the north. The nation's highest peak is the Tibesti's Emi Koussi (11,204 feet, or 3,415 meters). Chad's three climatic regions are the hot, dry Sahara in the north; a flat, arid center; and a fertile savanna in the south. The Chari and Logone rivers, abundant in fish, feed Lake Chad, which is shrinking dramatically from drought. Because of their religious beliefs, Muslim women usually dress modestly in head-to-toe robes, although government regulations do not require them to do so. Men in most areas of Chad continue to dress traditionally, according to their individual ethnic background, although men in urban areas might wear Western clothing.