Zangon Kataf (, also Katab, Cuttub) is a Local Government Area in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Zonkwa. It is also a name of a town in the chiefdom of the Atyap. Other towns include: Batadon (Madakiya), Agut Ntswuo (Samaru Kataf), Kamantan, Anchuna and Kamuru. It has an area of 2,579 km and a population of 318,991 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 802.
Following the creation Kaduna and Katsina from the old North-Central State in 1989, Zangon Kataf LGA was also created from the old Kachia LGA in the same year.
With an average temperature of 33 degrees Celsius, Zangon Kataf LGA is 2,668 square kilometers in size. The LGA experiences two different seasons, known as the wet and dry seasons, with an average humidity of 27% in the region.
In Zangon Kataf LGA, the mountain with the highest peak is Kacecere (Atyecarak) Hill with a height of 1022m and prominence of 98m. Other mountains are: Kankada Hill (1007m), Bako Hill (949m), Madauci Hill (939m), Ashafa Hill (856m), Kabam Hill (814m), and Antang Hill (742m). Bako Hill, however, has the highest prominence of 155m.
Zangon Kataf town and environs have an average annual temperature of about , average yearly highs of about and lows of , with zero rainfalls at the ends and beginnings of the year with a yearly average precipitation of about , and an average humidity of 53.7%, similar to that of neighbouring towns Kagoro and Zonkwa.
Zangon Kataf Local Government Area (LGA) shares boundaries with Kachia LGA to the west, Kajuru LGA to the northwest, Kauru LGA to the north and northeast, Kaura LGA to the southeast, Jema'a LGA to the south and Jaba LGA to southwest, respectively.
The Local Government Area is divided into the following administrative subdivides or electoral wards:
Zangon Kataf Local Government Area according to the March 21, 2006 national population census was put at 318,991. Its population was projected by the National Population Commission of Nigeria and National Bureau of Statistics to be 430,600 by March 21, 2016.
The people predominantly belong to the Atyap (Nenzit) Ethno-Linguistic group. These people include: the Bajju, Atyap proper, Bakulu, Anghan and Añtyecaàrak. There are also the Hausa settler elements and other Nigerian peoples settling among the aboriginal people.
The five indigenous people found in the Local Government Area speak related dialects of a common language, Tyap. The largest of them is Jju, closely followed by Tyap proper, then by Kulu, then by Nghan and then by Tyecañrak. However, due to the British colonial influence, Hausa language is also widely spoken.
There are four chiefdoms in the Local Government Area, namely:
The major cultural delicacies enjoyed by the people of Zangon Kataf include:
The main non-alcoholic drinks synonymous with this region is known as tañbwai tsuntswa in the Tyap tongue (kunu tsuntswa in Hausa).
The region has also for long been synonymous for the brewing of the alcoholic drink known as añkan in Tyap proper and Tyecaàrak, dikan in Jju and burukutu in Hausa, although its brewing has been banned in some areas.