Africantroduction
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Africa is the second largest continent in the world after Asia. It covers about one fifth of the total land surface of the Earth. The continent is surrounded by water. On the north is the Mediterranean Sea, on the west and south the Atlantic Ocean, and on the east the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. More than 50 countries make up the continent, and it is estimated that more than one eighth of the world's population—more than 800 million people—lived in Africa in 2001.
The continent is crossed midway by the equator. Several islands are considered part of Africa. The most significant of these is Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world. With other small islands it forms the country of Madagascar. The Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion, and Cape Verde are also island nations.
Land
Africa's landscape is varied. The land is higher in the east and south and lower in the west. It is the oldest continent. Therefore its mountains are not as high as those on other continents. This is because they have been worn down over millions of years by erosion. The highlands area reaches its greatest height in the mountains of eastern Africa, where there are also volcanoes. Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, at 19,340 feet (5,895 meters), is the highest mountain in Africa.
Rift Valley
Africa's most striking and distinctive feature is a series of great rifts, or troughs, in the east known as the Rift Valley system. These rifts actually span two continents, from western Asia through eastern Africa. In Africa they are deep, long, narrow valleys.
Waterways
Video:An overview of the importance of the Nile River to the development of North Africa.
* An overview of the importance of the Nile River to the development of North Africa.
Several of the world's longest rivers flow through Africa—the Nile, Congo, Niger, and Zambezi. The Nile is the longest river in the world. The Congo, which is the second longest in Africa and sixth longest in the world, flows through a broad area near the equator. Portions of the river can be traveled by boat. The Niger River rises in Guinea, flows north and east in a wide arc and turns south to the Gulf of Guinea. The Zambezi flows eastward across the southern part of Africa. Its course is interrupted by the Victoria Falls, 355 feet (108 meters) high, and the Kariba Dam.
Photograph:Lake Kivu is in East Africa between Rwanda and Zaire.
* Lake Kivu is in East Africa between Rwanda and Zaire.
Eastern Africa has a chain of lakes known as the great lakes. Many of these lakes occupy parts of the Rift Valley. Lake Victoria, mainly in Tanzania and Uganda, is the largest of Africa's lakes. It is the world's second biggest freshwater lake, after Lake Superior in North America.
Climate
Africa is largely tropical and subtropical. More temperate, or milder, climates are found on the Mediterranean coast of northern Africa, in the southern and southwestern areas of South Africa, and in the higher parts of eastern Africa. The continent's climate zones are related to the amount of rainfall they receive. In the lowlands near the equator, rain falls throughout the year. Sometimes as many as 160 days of heavy rain occur in one year. The western coastal forest also receives heavy rainfall.
North and south of the equatorial belt rain falls during a definite five- or six-month season. A dry season follows, but it may include occasional showers. Rainfall gradually decreases to the north and south, becoming quite sparse in the Sahara and Kalahari regions. In the Sahara, temperatures may fall to the freezing point after sundown.
Plants and animals
The vegetation in Africa depends on the rainfall that each region receives. In the areas around the equator, where it rains the year around, there are dense rain forests that may contain as many as 3,000 different tree and plant species, or types, per square mile. Between the rain forests and the great deserts to the north and south are the savanna areas. These are open grasslands scattered with trees such as acacias and baobabs. Farmers and herders live in the savanna.
A serious problem for the people of the savanna is that the vegetation is being used up, leaving the land bare. As the population increases in these areas, more and more of the trees are being used for fuel and for building supplies. Some scientists are concerned that removing the vegetation may cause the savanna to become more desertlike. Beyond the savanna, where the annual rainfall is less than 16 inches (40 centimeters), are the desert regions of the Sahara, the Namib, and the Kalahari. The deserts cannot support large populations. In the Sahara there are a few nomadic herders, such as the Tuareg and the Gabbra. A number of countries extract minerals, notably petroleum in Algeria and Libya.
While the rain forest, savanna, and deserts cover most of the continent, there are also smaller areas of mountain and Mediterranean environments.
The animal life of Africa is rich and varied, though it was greatly reduced in the 20th century. This was partly as a result of overhunting and poaching and partly because large areas of their natural habitats have been taken over for farming. Today many species are threatened with extinction. To protect wildlife, several countries have set aside land for the exclusive use of wild animals. These wildlife reserves are home to herds of elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippopotamuses, and many kinds of antelope. They share land with meat-eating animals, such as lions, jackals, and hyenas. The rain forests support monkeys, bats, flying squirrels, gorillas, leopards, and mongooses. The chief native animals of northern Africa are the African red deer, the aoudad, the ibex, and the jerboa. Fish, birds, and reptiles are also abundant.
There are many insects in Africa as well, including several that spread diseases. Mosquitoes transmit malaria and yellow fever to humans, and tsetse flies carry sleeping sickness to humans, cattle, and horses. Other harmful insects include locusts and termites. Swarms of locusts sometimes move across the African continent, destroying all the crops in their path.
In addition to its wildlife, Africa has a variety of domestic animals—cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry. Horses live only in the grasslands and temperate zones. The camel of northern Africa at one time provided the only means of long-distance travel across the Sahara.
People and culture
Photograph:Rural settlement in northeastern South Africa.
* Rural settlement in northeastern South Africa.
Africa has the most physically varied populations in the world, from the tallest peoples to the shortest; facial and other physical features also vary widely. Most of the population consists of black peoples belonging to almost 3,000 different ethnic groups. In the north there are also large numbers of Arabs, and there are many descendants of Europeans who established colonies in Africa hundreds of years ago.
When the Arabs spread across northern Africa beginning in the 7th century, they brought a new religion (Islam) and a new language (Arabic).
Languages and religion
The number of languages spoken in Africa probably exceeds 1,000, though some are spoken by only a small number of people. The four main language families of Africa are Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, Afro-Asiatic, and Khoisan. Niger-Congo is the most widespread, covering most of central and southern Africa. Khoisan languages, spoken mostly in the southwest, include a number of characteristic click sounds.
In general, Islam is the religion of northern Africa and Christianity of southern Africa. Traditional religions are also practiced.
Art and literature
African art is as diverse as the cultures and languages of the continent. In the north, artistic styles have been influenced by Islamic art. Throughout the continent people make crafts from all kinds of materials, including textiles, metal, wood, leather, and clay.
Every African community has its own music, which is a part of everyday life. Traditional music and dance form an important part of the festivals, rites, and religious celebrations of the community. Through the music brought to America by African slaves, elements of traditional African music have entered the mainstream of the music of the West.
Africans have a strong literary tradition as well. Stories have been told by one generation to another for centuries. Africans write stories, novels, and poetry in local languages as well as European languages. Chinua Achebe of Nigeria and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o of Kenya are two of the most well-known writers. Several Africans have been awarded the Nobel prize for literature. They include Wole Soyinka of Nigeria, Naguib Mahfouz of Egypt, and Nadine Gordimer of South Africa.
Education
In traditional African societies, children were educated in the community. Their parents or other adults taught them how to conduct themselves and what was expected of them as they matured. Christian missionaries introduced European-style education in the 19th century. During the period of European rule the various colonial governments supported some schools, but overall they spent little money on education. In all African countries the government provides public education, but most governments cannot afford to provide education for everyone. Millions of Africans remained unable to read or write.
One of the oldest universities in the world was founded in the 10th century in Cairo, Egypt. It is an Islamic institution called al-Azhar University. Most higher education, however, began in the mid-20th century. Today all the larger African countries have at least one college or university.
Health
Many African countries are comparatively poor. Much of the money for their health care comes from overseas or from aid programs set up by more wealthy countries. Infectious diseases, such as malaria, continue to be a serious problem in Africa, and some 70 percent of all AIDS cases are in Africa.
Economy
Resources
Most of Africa is underdeveloped. Its mineral wealth is vast, however. It has a large share of coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium, radium, cobalt, copper, lead, zinc, tin, gold, platinum, and diamonds. The leading countries producing metals and non-metallic minerals, such as precious stones, include South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Congo (Kinshasa), and Gabon.
The Saharan regions of Libya and Algeria contain vast deposits of oil and natural gas, which were discovered in the 1950s. Oil and natural gas are also extracted in coastal Nigeria, Egypt, Gabon, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo (Brazzaville). Coal supplies in Africa are limited, but large coalfields are located in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Morocco.
Agriculture
In many tropical forests of western Africa, yams are grown as a staple food. In savanna country, grain crops such as corn, millet, and upland rice are staples. Swamp rice is grown in river areas. In much of southern Africa corn, known there as “mealies,” is the staple food. The tropical grasslands are also suitable for cattle farming. Most African countries do not produce enough food to feed all their people. Therefore they must now import food.
In many parts of Africa certain crops are produced for sale and export. Africa is the world's largest supplier of cocoa beans, used in making chocolate. The Côte d'Ivoire, in West Africa, produces more cocoa beans than any other country in the world. Africa also produces much cotton, sisal (a fiber), tea, coffee, palm oil, yams, and peanuts.
Forestry
Forest products are valuable exports. The tropical forest yields ebony, mahogany, and other hardwood timbers that are in high demand for furniture. Cork is obtained from northern Africa.
Industry
Although Africa still earns most of its money by exporting raw materials and food, many of its countries are developing industries. The countries hope to create jobs and replace expensive imports with local products. Some industries process raw agricultural materials produced locally. Others manufacture goods for use in Africa. South Africa is the most industrialized African nation.
Energy
Rivers provide the main source of power in Africa. Several vast programs to harness waterpower were undertaken in the mid-20th century, and other programs were being developed. The Kariba Dam on the Zambezi (in Zimbabwe) and the Aswan High Dam on the Nile (in Egypt) are examples of this. Coal-burning steam power stations are also important.
Transportation
Transportation is poor throughout the continent. Animals are still used, though that has been reduced as other methods became available. Navigation by boat has continued but has not been greatly developed. In the 21st century only the more industrialized areas have well-developed road and railroad systems. Air transport has become the main method of international and sometimes national travel. There are large international airports in Casablanca, Morocco; Cairo, Egypt; Dakar, Senegal; Nairobi, Kenya; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and many other major cities.
History
Africa is the oldest continent. It is also thought to be the place where humans first appeared, more than 1 million years ago (see human origins). The African continent had many kingdoms and empires during its early history. One of the world's earliest civilizations, ancient Egypt, developed in the lower Nile River valley nearly five thousand years ago.
The African people have a long history of contact with other powers. In about the 8th century BC the Phoenicians established the city of Carthage in what is now Tunisia, and 700 years later the Roman Empire took control of part of North Africa. Arabs from the Middle East spread into Africa in the 7th century AD. Some African states profited from trade with other countries.
The first Europeans to arrive in Africa were the Portuguese, in the late 15th century. Soon the British, Dutch, and French had also set up towns and trading centers. They began trading slaves from Africa to the New World in the 16th century, and this practice continued into the early 19th century. They did not actually take control of the African territories during this period, however. In the late 19th century Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, and Germany established colonies in much of Africa. The African people had no say in how they were ruled, and they were often forced off the best land so that the Europeans could take it. Many African people resisted European control throughout the colonial period.
In the 20th century the colonies were finally granted independence. Many African countries faced great unrest after gaining independence. Ethnic violence led to many deaths, and in many cases civil war broke out as individuals and groups struggled to establish control. The poor economies of the countries added to the problems. Despite efforts by international agencies such as the United Nations to solve the disputes and aid the economies, the unrest continued into the 21st century. (See also articles on individual African countries and geographic featur
