Ghana is a lowland country, except for a range of hills on the eastern border. The sandy coastline is backed by a coastal plain that is crossed by several rivers and streams, generally navigable only by canoe. In the west, the terrain is broken by heavily forested hills and many streams and rivers. To the north lies an undulating savanna country that is drained by the Black and White Volta rivers, which join to form the Volta, which then flows south to the sea through a narrow gap in the hills. Southern Ghana contains evergreen and semi deciduous forests, consisting of tall silk cottons, kolas, and valuable West African hardwoods such as mahogany, odum, and ebony.

The northern two-thirds of the country is covered by savanna (a tropical grassland with a scattering of shrubs and trees), featuring shea trees, acacias, and baobabs. The oil palm is found throughout the south and the Ashanti uplands, and the lagoons of the coast contain mangroves. Once plentiful throughout the savanna, large mammals such as elephants and lions are now rare and largely confined to nature reserves. The forest regions are habitats for monkeys, snakes, and antelopes, and some of the major rivers contain crocodiles. There are more than 725 bird species in Ghana.