Africa

Africa is the second largest continent in the world with an area of 30,330,000 sq.km which is about 22% of the total area of the world. It extends from 37⁰N to 35⁰S latitude and from 17⁰W to 51⁰E longitudes. The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn passes through the north and south of the continent respectively. The Equator also passes through the center of the continent.

The Mediterranean Sea lies to the North of Africa. It is separated with Europe by the Strait of Gibraltar and with Asia by the Red Sea. The Indian Ocean lies to its east and the Pacific Ocean lies to the west.

Africa is called the 'Dark Continent' because most of the parts of the continent are unexplored due to the Sahara Desert, dense forest and lack of education.

Physical features

• Mountains: Atlas in the northwest, Drakensberg in the southeast and Mt. Kilimanjaro in the eastern highlands.

• Desert: Greater part of Africa is covered by deserts made up of hard old rocks.

• Rivers: Nile - the longest river, The Zaire, Zambezi, Niger, Orange and Limpopo

• Lakes: Malawi, Albert, Victoria, Chad, etc.

Climate and Vegetation

The climate of Africa is affected by latitude, ocean and seas, ocean currents and high plateaus.The climate of Africa is hot and wet throughout the year with rain after every afternoon. The climate is dry near the tropic of cancer and tropic of Capricorn where deserts like Sahara, Namib and Kalahari lie.Rich grasslands called savannas are present in Africa. The Savanna Grassland is known as the 'Zoo of the World' as many animals as lion, zebra, giraffe live here. In deserts, only date palms, shrubs and thorny bushes are found.

People

The population of Africa has more than 13% of the world's population. The topography, diseases, lack of arable land are the causes for low economic development. Native people like Bushmen, Pygmies are inhabited here. It is believed that Ancient civilization started in Nile Valley in Egypt. HIV/AIDS is prevalent in most of the people. Egypt, South Africa, etc. are some of the developed countries. Rest all countries are backward in development.