Africa

Background information; by edgardowelelo@yahoo.com

Africa is the birthplace of human culture and the world’s second largest. Africa alone is larger than South America and Europe combined. In fact, Africa is directly south of Europe, across the Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, some of the countries in Northern Africa can be visited as day trips from Spain, Italy, or Greece.

The many nations  in Africa can be grouped into several areas as follows:

• 1. Northern Africa: ( is a region of deserts, oases, and Islamic culture). These countries, roughly from west to east are (Morocco, Mali, Tunisia, Egypt (which is sometimes grouped with the Middle East), and Ethiopia.)
• 2. West Africa: ( is a region which is highly influenced by French culture.) These countries include Senegal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Ivory coast, Ghana, Togo,  Benin,  and Nigeria.
• 3. Central Safari Belt: ( is a region, located just to the east of West Africa). It is most visited countries. These countries include Cameroon,  the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Formerly Zaire) , Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.
• 4. Southerly Central Victoria Falls Region: ( is a region that involves countries such as Zambia and Zimbabwe).
• 5. Southern Africa (Countries in this region, include South Africa, Namibia , Botswana, and the small nations of Lesotho and Swaziland ( currently known as Etiswatin).
• 6. Islands that lie off the shores of Africa (Include the Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius). The others are northwest of Africa and can be stop – off points on flights between Europe and North America; the Azores,  the Canary Islands, the Madeira Islands, and the Cape Verde Islands.

The most prominent feature in Africa.

Sahara desert is the most prominent feature in  Africa , which covers most of the continent’s northern third,  and the Kalahari desert which takes up much of southern Africa (For more details – read   more on continents profile section of this fantastic website about Africa at large).  Much of the rest of the African continent is actually grassy savannah and veldt, with rivers and a few large lakes here and there. Furthermore,  most of Africa consists of flat coastal and plateau regions, though some major mountains rise up in the North West and along the continent’s eastern side. And the equator splits Africa almost directly across its center. The features of Africa are a major part of what makes this land so adventurous and exotic.

• Bodies of water.

Two oceans lie on either side of Africa; Atlantic Ocean on the west and the Indian Ocean on the east.  Along the northern boundary is the Mediterranean sea , dividing the continent in the northeast from the middle East (which is connected to Europe and Asia ) is the  Red Sea. In the area separating the Middle East from Africa,  is the Suez Canal,  which connects the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Suez. Through much of the region is desert, there is quite a network of rivers. Indeed, some of the most famous rivers in the world flow here. Emptying into the Mediterranean is the mighty Nile River, which dominates northeastern Africa. Several major rivers flow off the west coast of Africa into the Atlantic,  including the Congo and Gambia Rivers. A major rainforest surrounds the Congo River basin.   And the Niger River runs through northwestern Africa. Emptying at the east coast is the Zambezi River,  which begins in the central Africa and flows southward , then eastward,  tumbling at midpoint over mighty Victoria Falls, a major tourist destination. Victoria Falls is often visited in conjunction with stays in Zambia, Zimbabwe, or Botswana.  Africa  has few lakes, but Lake Victoria is quite large and stands out in eastern Africa. Below it are couple of long, thin lakes; Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa (Malawi). In the north,  just south of the Sahara,  is Lake Chad.

• Mountains;

The Atlas Mountains in the NorthWest corner and the many mountains (most are volcanoes) of the eastern regions. Indeed,  lofty Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), the highest mountain in Africa,  rises more than 19,000 feet above sea level. One other prominent feature stands out; the Great Rift Valley,  which begins in the Middle East and continues down to east – central Africa.

• Climate;

Africa tends to be dry year – round,  as is Namibia,  on the Southwestern  coast. The coastal areas of western and central Africa are very rain (here are the rainforests and jungles). The rest of Africa has moderate rainfall patterns. Rainy seasons vary widely from place to place in Africa. Certain countries near the equator,  like Kenya,  even have two distinct rainy seasons.

Top attractions in Africa;