Africa, the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent, is a land of diverse landscapes, rich history, and abundant resources. Covering about one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth, Africa presents a unique blend of geographical features, cultural heritage, and economic potential.
Map of Africa
Geographical Overview
The continent of Africa borders the southern half of the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic Ocean is to the west and the Indian Ocean is to the Southeast. Africa stretches well south of the equator to cover more than 12 million square miles, making it the world's second largest continent.
Africa is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and on the south by the mingling waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Its northern extremity is Al-Ghīrān Point, near Al-Abyaḍ Point (Cape Blanc), Tunisia; its southern extremity is Cape Agulhas, South Africa; its farthest point east is Xaafuun (Hafun) Point, near Cape Gwardafuy (Guardafui), Somalia; and its western extremity is Almadi Point (Pointe des Almadies), on Cape Verde (Cap Vert), Senegal.
In the northeast, Africa was joined to Asia by the Sinai Peninsula until the construction of the Suez Canal. Paradoxically, the coastline of Africa-18,950 miles (30,500 km) in length-is shorter than that of Europe, because there are few inlets and few large bays or gulfs.
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Off the coasts of Africa a number of islands are associated with the continent. Of these Madagascar, one of the largest islands in the world, is the most significant. Other, smaller islands include the Seychelles, Socotra, and other islands to the east; the Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion, and other islands to the southeast; Ascension, St. Helena, and Tristan da Cunha to the southwest; Cape Verde, the Bijagós Islands, Bioko, and São Tomé and Príncipe to the west; and the Azores and the Madeira and Canary islands to the northwest.
The continent is cut almost equally in two by the Equator, so that most of Africa lies within the tropical region, bounded on the north by the Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn. Because of the bulge formed by western Africa, the greater part of Africa’s territory lies north of the Equator. Africa is crossed from north to south by the prime meridian (0° longitude), which passes a short distance to the east of Accra, Ghana.
Major Regions
- North Africa: Refers to the northern part of the African continent.
- East Africa: The term used to describe the eastern part of the continent, including the islands in the Indian Ocean.
Geological Features
The whole of Africa can be considered as a vast plateau rising steeply from narrow coastal strips and consisting of ancient crystalline rocks. The plateau’s surface is higher in the southeast and tilts downward toward the northeast. In general the plateau may be divided into a southeastern portion and a northwestern portion.
The northwestern part, which includes the Sahara (desert) and that part of North Africa known as the Maghrib, has two mountainous regions-the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa, which are believed to be part of a system that extends into southern Europe, and the Ahaggar (Hoggar) Mountains in the Sahara. The southeastern part of the plateau includes the Ethiopian Plateau, the East African Plateau, and-in eastern South Africa, where the plateau edge falls downward in a scarp-the Drakensberg range.
One of the most remarkable features in the geologic structure of Africa is the East African Rift System, which lies between 30° and 40° E. The rift itself begins northeast of the continent’s limits and extends southward from the Eritrean Red Sea coast to the Zambezi River basin.
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East African Rift System
Historical Civilizations
Africa is home to some of the world's great civilizations including Ancient Egypt which ruled for over 3000 years and built the Great Pyramids. Other civilizations include the Mali Empire, the Songhai Empire, and the Kingdom of Ghana. Africa is also home to some of the oldest discoveries of human tools and possibly the oldest people group in the world in the San people of Southern Africa.
Natural Resources and Wildlife
Africa contains an enormous wealth of mineral resources, including some of the world’s largest reserves of fossil fuels, metallic ores, and gems and precious metals. This richness is matched by a great diversity of biological resources that includes the intensely lush equatorial rainforests of Central Africa and the world-famous populations of wildlife of the eastern and southern portions of the continent.
Serengeti in Tanzania's Mara and Simiyu regions is famous for its massive annual migration of wildebeest and zebra. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area covers an area of more than 8,000 km² in northern Tanzania.
Serengeti National Park
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Population and Settlement
Climatic and other factors have exerted considerable influence on the patterns of human settlement in Africa. While some areas appear to have been inhabited more or less continuously since the dawn of humanity, enormous regions-notably the desert areas of northern and southwestern Africa-have been largely unoccupied for prolonged periods of time. Thus, although Africa is the second largest continent, it contains only about 10 percent of the world’s population and can be said to be underpopulated.
The greater part of the continent has long been inhabited by Black peoples, but in historic times there also have occurred major immigrations from both Asia and Europe. Of all foreign settlements in Africa, that of the Arabs has made the greatest impact. The Islamic religion, which the Arabs carried with them, spread from North Africa into many areas south of the Sahara, so that many western African peoples are now largely Islamized.
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Additional Information
The highest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 5895 meters high. The largest country in Africa is Algeria, the smallest is the Seychelles.
In antiquity the Greeks are said to have called the continent Libya and the Romans to have called it Africa, perhaps from the Latin aprica (“sunny”) or the Greek aphrike (“without cold”). The name Africa, however, was chiefly applied to the northern coast of the continent, which was, in effect, regarded as a southern extension of Europe.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Land Area | Approximately 11,724,000 square miles (30,365,000 square km) |
| North-South Extent | About 5,000 miles (8,000 km) |
| East-West Extent | About 4,600 miles (7,400 km) |
| Coastline Length | 18,950 miles (30,500 km) |
| Highest Point | Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 meters) |
| Largest Country | Algeria |
| Smallest Country | Seychelles |
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