What is today known as Bauchi State was created in 1976 from the North Eastern State of Nigeria. According to the 1991 census, the state has a population of 3,836,333 after the creation of Gombe State in 1996. Bauchi State is one of the states in Northern part of Nigeria that spans two distinctive vegetation zones, namely the Sudan savannah and the Sahel Savannah.
The Sudan savannah type of vegetation covers the southern part of the state. Here, the vegetation gets richer and richer towards the South, especially along water sources or rivers but generally, the vegetation is less uniform and grasses are shorter than what obtains further South, that is in the forest zone of the middle belt. The Sahel type of Savannah which is also known as the semi-desert vegetation becomes manifest from the middle of the state as one moves from the South to the Northern part of the State.
The characteristics of this type of vegetation comprise of isolated stands of thorny shrubs. On the other hand, the southern part of the state is mountainous as a result of the continuation of the Jos-Plateau, while the northern part is generally sandy.