The East Region () occupies the southeastern portion of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the east by the Central African Republic, to the south by Congo, to the north by the Adamawa Region, and to the west by the Centre and South Regions. With 109,002 km2 of territory, it is the largest region in the nation as well as the most sparsely populated. Historically, the peoples of the East have been settled in Cameroonian territory for longer than any other of the country's many ethnic groups, the first inhabitants being the Baka (or Babinga) pygmies. The East Region has very little industry, its main commerce consisting of logging, timber, and mining. Instead, the bulk of its inhabitants are subsistence farmers. The region is thus of little political import and is often ignored by Cameroonian politicians. This coupled with the low level of development in the province have led to its being dubbed "the forgotten province". The southwest region is the most endowed with natural resources like oil,timber and plantain plantation Geography Land The soil of the East is predominantly ferrallitic, rich with iron and red in colour. The southern three quarters of the region consists of metamorphic rock such as gneiss, schist, mica, and migmatite. Starting at about the level of Bertoua and going north, however, granite becomes the dominate soil component. While the region supports an abundance of plant life, it is not particularly fertile due to leaching caused by the humid environment. Eastern dirt hardens quickly in the sun, and it is often used as a building material by poorer inhabitants. Drainage The region contains several river systems: the Nyong, which drains the central-western area, the Dja in the southwest, the Lom in the northeast, the Kadéï, which drains the northwest, the Boumba in the centre and southeast, and the Sangha and Ngoko, which drain portions of the southeast and form the border with the Central African Republic and Congo respectively. Many of these rivers have carved out valleys that surround them. The rivers of the territory have only slight gradients, and floods can occur along them during the rainy season. The Lom and Nyong rivers eventually empty into the Atlantic Ocean. All other rivers in the East form part of the Congo River basin. Relief Almost the entire territory of the East Region lies on the South Cameroon Plateau that forms the southeastern half