Wum is a town and commune

Communes of Cameroon

The Communes of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The communes are organised by arrondissements of the Divisions of Cameroon of each province....

 in Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

. It is the capital of Menchum

Menchum

Menchum is a department of Northwest Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4469 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 157,173.The capital of the department lies at Wum....

 division in the Northwest Province.

Geography

Wum is the third biggest town in the North West Region of Cameroon. It lies on a plateau at an elevation of about 1100 m near the edge of the western highlands of Cameroon. It is 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) north of the regional capital Bamenda

Bamenda

Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the North West Province. The city had a population of 269,530 at the 2005 Census, and is located 366 km north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé...

 (by dirt road). It lies near Lake Wum, one of five small crater lakes within 15 km of the town in the hilly, volcanic landscape. Lake Nyos

Lake Nyos

Lake Nyos is a crater lake in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, located about northwest of Yaoundé. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcanic activity...

, a crater lake from which a limnic eruption

Limnic eruption

A limnic eruption, also referred to as a lake overturn, is a rare type of natural disaster in which carbon dioxide suddenly erupts from deep lake water, suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. Such an eruption may also cause tsunamis in the lake as the rising CO2 displaces water. Scientists...

 killed nearly 2000 people in 1986, is 25 km to the east.

Population and language

In 2007 Wum's estimated population was 78,000.
The Aghem language, spoken in Wum, is also called Wum or Yum.

See also

• Site de la primature - Élections municipales 2002
• Contrôle de gestion et performance des services publics communaux des villes camerounaises - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV
• Charles Nanga, La réforme de l’administration territoriale au Cameroun à la lumière de la loi constitutionnelle n° 96/06 du 18 janvier 1996, Mémoire ENA.