Jos

Jos (jôs) [key], city (1991 est. pop. 182,000), central Nigeria, on the Jos Plateau. It is a mining center for tin ore, which is processed in the city, and a collection point for hides and skins and for market-garden produce to be sent to Lagos. It is also a resort. Jos was developed in the early 20th cent. by the British as an administrative center and mining town. The railroad reached here in 1927. The Jos Museum includes a collection of neolithic Nok terra-cotta figurines (see African art). The UNESCO School for Museum Technicians is attached to the museum, and the Univ. of Jos (1975), which has a teaching hospital, is located there.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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